Blood
by storynerd
Summary: Metallic red flowed from the wound. The thread of blood swished back and forth, following his commands. How does it feel controlling blood, Naruto? blood line!
1. Chapter 1

**Blood**

Chapter 1

The sound of feet slapping the dirt ground echoed through the dank alleyway.

A young boy, unusually short and malnourished, panted heavily as he skidded around the corner. His skinny legs fumbled beneath the weight of his body and twisted outward, sending the child to his hands and knees. Bruised hands clawed the wall of a nearby building and forced his legs to straighten. Bloody spots were left on the dirt floor from where he had collapsed.

The boy's eyes widened as he spotted the red stains on the floor. His panting increased as he hurriedly kicked the surrounding dirt onto the spots to cover them. But no matter how hard he tried; the bloodstains stared back like florescent signs.

A clanging sound echoed from the opposite side of the alleyway.

The six-year-old child looked up in raw fear and scrambled in the opposite direction. He rounded another corner and reached out a hand to catch the corner. His face scrunched up in pain as the rough texture of the building dug into his raw skin.

"Where is that _demon_?" a villager spat out with a disgusted undertone as he looked up and down the dark alleyway. The boy had slipped inside another alleyway that was perpendicular to the one that the mob was in.

The boy winced and lowered his head in shame. He wasn't sure why people called him that but he was well aware that they were referring to him. After many incidents of the past, he had become very familiar with being referred 'demon' that he had once believed that that was really his name.

The child held his breath as he listened to the whispers and rude yells of the villagers. The sounds soon quieted to a whisper. Footsteps padded away. Discontent mumbles and jeers followed and soon faded out.

A breath of relief escaped the young child. As the adrenaline and strive for survival was no longer needed, the boy collapsed onto his bottom.

Tears ran down from his eyes in torrents. He couldn't stop them; he didn't want to stop them.

His bloody hands were limp on the floor and he could see how bruised he was. Blood had seeped underneath his nails, darkening his nails to a frightening dark red color. His hands and arms were littered with deep cuts and raw flesh. His clothes were reduced to pathetic strips that waved like flags in the cold night breeze.

The boy's eyes turned away from the horrors of the bruises and made no move to wipe away the unstoppable tears. He leaned his head on the wall of the cramped dark alleyway and looked up into the sky.

The cool October wind brushed his face and slid down his arms. Its icy touch sent a streak of pain up his arm. Other than the slight twitch of his fingers, he made no indication that he felt the pain.

Perhaps he was too tired. Perhaps he was too numb. Perhaps he was too used to this pain.

From the boy's point of view, the October night sky was only visible in a small strip above the tall alleyway walls.

The stars shined and twinkled, as though laughing at the condition that the small child was in; especially the irony that it was his birthday.

The boy's eyes dully reflected the light of the stars above. He sighed heavily, as though the burden of the world weighed down on his frail shoulders.

Slowly, fatigue overtook the boy's body.

Naruto slowly closed his eyes and slept.

* * *

"…_Naruto…"_

Naruto's bloodshot eyes snapped open. An icy breeze traveled from his legs up his spine. His arms folded across his chest and rubbed his arms to create some heat. He frowned and looked down at his body.

Despite the fact that he had been brutally beaten and attacked, his body was unmarred.

Naruto looked closer at his skin, which led him to discover that his surrounding was a sea of red.

High above him, the sky was a dark red, with no clouds or light to set any differences. Beneath his feet were blades of grass, dyed the color of blood. The red plain stretched out on all sides, ending to meet with the red horizon.

A light wind blew past Naruto, carrying a strange smell to his nose. It was familiar but he couldn't quite remember exactly what it was. A sliver of cold air separated and traveled down the collar of his shirt, making young Naruto shiver at the icy touch.

"…_Naruto…"_

Naruto jumped in fright and looked around frantically, searching for the disembodied voice.

"…_Naruto…"_

Again the whisper came, sending an involuntary shiver down Naruto's spine.

"W-Who's there?" Naruto feigned courage but his shivers betrayed him.

A vision of red surrounded by darkness, the glint of sharp fangs, a splash of water onto bare floor, and a deep growl answered him.

Naruto backed away, his thin legs shaking uncontrollably. He spun around and ran as fast as he could, but no matter how hard or fast he ran, the red tinted trees at the edge of the clearing stayed the same distance away as when he first started. Naruto slowed to a stop, knowing his efforts were useless. He bent down; his ragged pants were the only sounds in this world.

Suddenly, the splashing of water drew Naruto's attention. He looked towards the sound and found a small stream a couple of feet away. The sight of water reminded him of how thirsty he felt and also conveniently pushed away the small voice at the back of his mind that repeatedly told him that the source of water hadn't been there when he arrived. As Naruto neared, the strange smell became more distinct but that didn't deter Naruto. He kneeled down on the bank of the stream and cupped some water in his hands. He hurriedly brought it to his mouth to drink.

As soon as the liquid entered him mouth, he realized it wasn't water. It was similar to the liquid spilt when he bit his tongue during a beating or when he licked a deep wound before going to the Hokage to get healed.

It was the taste of blood. The reflection of the ruby red sky had hidden the true nature of the liquid.

Naruto quickly spat the mouthful out but the taste of blood still remained on his tongue. He looked down at his hands in shock. They were covered with blood. Naruto looked down further to discover his entire body was covered with the sticky substance.

A blurry figure materialized several feet in front of Naruto, its features hidden in the shadows of its hood. The figure extended a hand towards Naruto and made a beckoning motion. Naruto watched in amazement as the metallic liquid obeyed the figure, leaving Naruto's skin to combine together into a rotating ball in the figure's open palm.

Even though the figure's face was hidden, Naruto had a feeling it had turned its scrutiny now on him. The figure held out the rotating ball of blood towards Naruto, as though inviting him to take it.

Naruto cautiously reached out…

* * *

The morning rays danced on Naruto's eyelids. He slowly surfaced to consciousness and couldn't contain a sigh at the thought of having to live through another day with the villagers.

**But things wouldn't be like that if you grew a backbone.**

Naruto shot up quickly, too quickly, making his vision dissolve into pieces of red and gray. He fell back onto his pillow again to reclaim his vision but unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on his side. Naruto bumped his head on the wall at the top on his bed, fell off his bed after bumping the wall, stepped on one of his newly bought kunai, and managed to mess up his already messed up apartment even more.

After finally managing to reclaim himself, he remembered the voice that had caused all the trouble.

Naruto looked around, searching for the mysterious voice. After finding no one around, Naruto filed it under 'must-have-imagined-it' but opted to stay in bed for his own safety. It seemed that he wasn't having a good start to a day, which was all the more reason to skip school.

**Are you going to spend your entire day in bed?**

Naruto's eyes widened and frantically looked around.

"Who's there?" He shouted, stooping over his bed to retrieve a kunai. His house was silent.

**I'm not a physical being but, I guess you could say, a spiritual being. I, once, was a physical being, the most powerful no less. I ruled the world-**

"Who's there? Answer!" Naruto interrupted, his head darting from side to side in awareness.

**You insolent child, how dare you cut me off? How dare you-**

"Show yourself! You're trespassing on private property." Naruto tried again. His eyes darted from corner to corner. His apartment remained silent.

**I order you to be quiet! I already told you that I am not in the physical plane. I am within you. **

_Within me?_ Naruto thought skeptically.

**Yes within you. **The voice answered with an impatient sigh.

Naruto gasped in shock.

**Yes I heard your thought. I'm able to hear your thoughts because I'm locked within you. Therefore, we can contact telepathically. **

Naruto remained silent on the outside. On the inside, he was teeming with questions.

**Brat, clear your mind. I'll answer your questions according to importance. **

Naruto sensed a change in mood. He quieted down and paid close attention to what the stranger had to say with suspicion and caution.

**I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, a bijuu of the highest order and power. I existed in the physical realm until approximately seven years old. I had…attacked Konohagakure and nearly managed to destroy it. My pride and confidence were my ultimate downfall. No one possessed the power to kill me but one man had enough power to seal me within a newborn infant. That infant was you. **

Naruto stayed silent. He bowed his head in shock. He didn't know how to reply to the one whom was responsible for the torture he received since birth, the one who was responsible for him being called a demon.

Kyuubi stayed silent also, opting to leaving Naruto to organize his thoughts and new information. He had had a front row seat to the amount of beatings and torture the boy received from the villagers. He had had to suffer greatly from the mental damage the boy received.

_Why have you appeared now and not earlier?_

Kyuubi looked up from his musings. He had never expected the kid to ask such an innocent question instead of the barrage of blame that Kyuubi had expected.

**I've never been **_**able**_** to contact you. The seal not only jailed me inside you but also created a barrier between us. **

_So how can you talk to me now?_

**I'm not sure. Seals aren't my specialty. **

Naruto stayed silent. Kyuubi took the time to inspect the situation and his charge.

**But since I'm here and I can contact you, I think it's time you learn something about yourself so you can defend yourself next time. **

Kyuubi could feel Naruto's attention shift.

**There's something inside you that was locked away, something that's rare and extremely valuable. Kid, what do you know about bloodlines?**


	2. Chapter 2

_Bloodlines?_

**Yes bloodlines. What do you know about bloodlines? **Kyuubi repeated impatiently.

Naruto thought about Sasuke's deceased family and their renowned killer red eyes. His thoughts also drifted to the timid Hinata and her family's pale emotionless eyes.

**Yes, those are the most prominent bloodlines in Konohagakure now. Of course, there are many different varieties of bloodline limits in each country. They exist to bring diversity and a step of power above the rest.**

_But what does that have to do with me?_ Naruto asked impatiently. He had grown bored the minute Kyuubi had shifted to lecture mode.

**This is very important because…you have a bloodline.**

The conversation between them descended to silence.

Naruto chocked with laughter. _Yeah right. If I had a bloodline limit, I could have killed the villagers so easily. _

**Having a bloodline does not necessarily mean you're powerful. Of course you will eventually become powerful but you have to train and unlock the secrets of your bloodline before you can fully control and grow with it. For example, the Hyuugas were born with their bloodline limit unlocked but they still had to train to put it to use. The Uchihas' Sharingan are powerful but they had to unlock their Sharingan first through a crisis that places their lives in danger.**

Naruto was still skeptical but decided to play along. _Okay let's just say I have a bloodline. I obviously wasn't born with it, like the Hyuugas. About the life-and-death situation, I've been through enough of those in the seven years I've been alive than any of the villagers. Why hasn't my bloodline shown itself?_

**It has. At least, it's starting to. You were close to unlocking your bloodline limit last night, which might explain how you unlocked me.**

Kyuubi continued before Naruto could retort with another one of his sarcastic remarks.

**I think it's about time you learned the truth about yourself, now that you've awaken me and your extinct bloodline. You need the knowledge to protect yourself when the time comes.**

Kyuubi paused. Naruto's attitude had done a complete 360.

_Are you going to continue?_ Naruto asked, impatiently.

Kyuubi sighed. **Listen carefully because I'm not going to repeat myself.**

**You belong to the Ukiyo Clan. Your true name would be Ukiyo Naruto of the Ukiyo Clan. That is your title. The Ukiyo Clan's infamous bloodline was the ability to control blood.**

The image of the blood colored landscape suddenly flashed through Naruto's mind.

**The bloodline's name is Chishiogan. It was renowned and feared in the entire world because of its ability to control blood.**

_Wait_, Naruto interrupted, _if it's so renowned and feared, why haven't I heard of it?_

**Approximately nine years before you were born, the Ukiyo Clan and the Chishiogan were supposedly wiped out.**

_But then how would I have it?_

**I do not know the answer but with you here in Konoha, I can only assume that your parents possessed the Chishiogan and had escaped here. Most likely they died seven years ago.**

Kyuubi refrained from explaining but Naruto knew what he wanted to hide.

_You mean seven years ago when you attacked?_ Naruto questioned smugly, hoping to make the demon feel guilty.

**…The Chishiogan has many levels and the basic of the bloodline is revealed in the first level.**

Naruto's eye twitched at Kyuubi's attempt to avoid the subject.

**Would you like to try?**

_Why are you phrasing the question like I'm gambling? This isn't gambling! This is my life and bloodline we're talking about here._

**Calm down. There's nothing to worry about. Everything will be okay. You get too excited over nothing.**

_You're too calm. You're tone is infuriating!_

Surprisingly, Kyuubi ceased his talking. Naruto sensed the demon calmly waiting.

**Are you finished yet?**

Naruto fumed at Kyuubi's coolly detached attitude.

_This is going to be a long day…_

* * *

Naruto sat cross-legged on the forest floor, his head bowed, eyes closed and hands gently rested on his knees.

The trees waved in the wind but aside from the whisper of the breeze, the forest was completely still.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

**Why are you trying so hard?**

_You told me to meditate to unlock my bloodline. _

**So if I told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?**

Naruto's eyes snapped open in disbelief. _What do you-_

Kyuubi sighed. **What's the point of trying so hard when you know you're going to fail?**

_What?_

**And it's not to unlock your bloodline but to increase the chances of unlocking your bloodline. Please remember this. Otherwise you'll have a false idea that you are actually powerful.**

Naruto tightened his fist in frustration. _If I could, I would kick your ass. _

**Oh please give up that attitude. You have to get it through your head that you're as powerless as an ant. No, correction: you're as powerless as dirt. When you finally unlock your bloodline, and that is, if you do, then you will have graduated to the level of ants.**

_I wish that I had never met you. _Naruto mumbled through clenched teeth.

**Believe me, dirt, the feeling's mutual.**

Naruto ran through his list of swear words and reluctantly returned to meditating.

* * *

**You are so unworthy of me.** Kyuubi mumbled with a coolly detached attitude and sighed.

Naruto's eye violently twitched but he chose to ignore the arrogant demon.

**But since I am so kind, I'll give you another chance. You will prove your worthiness by unlocking your bloodline but you have a time limit. You have until sundown. That is all.** Kyuubi finished with a dismissal tone.

Naruto's knuckles were white with anger. Iruka looked at Naruto with worry. He had dismissed the students ten minutes ago yet Naruto continued to sit there with an empty gaze and a red face.

"Naruto, are you-."

"SHUT UP!" Naruto exploded.

Iruka took a few steps back at the rude retort but his expression shifted from shock to maternal anger in a matter of seconds.

"What did you say Naruto? Where did you learn that kind of language?"

Naruto finally snapped to reality and realized his mistake. "I didn't mean you Iruka-sensei, I really didn't!"

"Whom were you talking to then?" Iruka asked, gesturing to the empty classroom. He crossed his arms over his chest and a belittling gaze was fixed on Naruto.

Naruto gulped and decided now would be a good time to escape. "Bye Iruka-sensei. See you tomorrow!"

He jumped out of his chair, narrowly missing Iruka's death glare, and ran onto the streets with a relieved sigh.

**That was pathetic.** Kyuubi commented with a bored face.

_It was your fault. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten into that mess. Iruka-sensei is going to kill me. _Naruto mentally groaned.

**Again, I say that was pathetic.**

Naruto mentally growled but calmed himself. He realized that growing angry did not help his situation at all and it fueled Kyuubi's attitude. _Kyuubi, was it? Are all demons like you?_ Naruto asked calmly, trying to imitate Kyuubi's attitude.

**First, that's Kyuubi-_sama_ to a piece of dirt like you. Second, of course not. I am the Nine-tails. I am more powerful than all other demons. And third, I'm sure that because you don't want to displease your Master. You are already thinking about a strategy to unlock your bloodline because you only have four hours left.**

Naruto's head snapped up. His eyes widened. _Oh damn it…_

* * *

Naruto stood in front of a tall wire gate that extended to encircle the monstrous overgrowth and vegetation within it. He couldn't see even a meter beyond the gate. The rest of the forest disappeared into shadows.

An ominous creak startled Naruto. He looked over at the sign moving in the cold breeze.

Training Area 44

**Congratulations, you've finally come home to this barbarous jungle.**

_You pompous asshole…_

Kyuubi was taken aback at the language and the calmness with which the seven year old spoke. He coughed daintily and resumed his cool demeanor.

**You are not worth my time but I will be judging your performance. If you act good, you'll get a treat.**

_What, you're treating like a dog now?_

Naruto waited for the demon's answer. It never came. He sighed deeply and looked up at the ominous forest again. It looked dangerous but there was nowhere else to go. Besides, he was curious about his supposed bloodline.

Naruto took another deep breath and leaped over the wire fence.

* * *

Naruto meandered around the enormous trees in the forest. The sun's light sifted through the thick overgrowth. Underfoot, weeds and tall grass caught Naruto's foot.

As Naruto wandered, he came across a shallow stream of clear water. He kneeled down to drink some water when he heard a low guttural growl from behind him.

The child's body froze, tense and nervous. A shiver shot up his spine and sent wild thoughts to his head. The first and foremost thought was to run. His legs straightened and he leapt over the stream. His hands clumsily pushed away the stray branches as his legs pushed him forward. His breath caught in his chest in frantic pants.

Suddenly, his body was propelled forward and pain overloaded his senses. As he landed, his back numbed. He wasn't aware he'd been hurt until he felt a small breeze blow across his wound. Pain stung from his right shoulder to the middle of his back. Naruto carefully reached out and flinched. The movement stretched the edges of the wound. Naruto felt liquid flowing down his back and panicked.

A howl split the air. Naruto scrambled onto his feet and spun around to face the creature.

His eyes widened. The creature was at least twice as large as Naruto and half a head taller. Mangy gray fur bristled. The hackles raised and a low growl erupted from its throat. Naruto noticed with fear that blood coated the sharp side fangs. He took an involuntary step back when his gaze locked with his attacker. The animal's eyes were yellow with madness, rimmed with a malevolent red.

Naruto's body shook from fear. The emotion clouded his mind and judgment, blocking away all coherent thoughts. Naruto's eyes darted around frantically, searching for a person, an animal, anything that would come to his rescue. While he was preoccupied, the wolf readied for another attack.

The animal jumped into the air, aiming for the boy. Naruto dodged to the side. Each time the wolf attacked, all Naruto could do was barely dodge. Sweat poured from him as he panted for air.

_I need to finish this._

Naruto suddenly remembered the kunai that he stuffed into his pocket that morning. He searched his jacket pockets for the kunai. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as his fingers touched cold metal.

Naruto quickly took his kunai out and scrambled to hold it like Iruka had taught them. He riffled through his mind for anything that Iruka had mentioned about the kunai. His heartbeat raced as seconds passed. His breaths were increasing as the thought of dying came to mind.

The animal growled and charged at Naruto. Naruto held his kunai tightly and waited for the distance between him and the wolf to shorten. The wolf snarled.

"_Stupid demon!" A man growled angrily and whipped his empty beer bottle towards Naruto. It shattered to pieces on impact. A thin line of blood dripped down Naruto's forehead into his eyes. His vision hazed over with red and the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the man's smug sneer. _

Something inside Naruto snapped. Visions of attacking villagers flashed through his mind. He raised the kunai above his head and sent the kunai in a sharp decent toward the wolf's approaching body.

Everything slowed. Naruto's eyes blurred red for a second before his vision returned. The wolf's body outline dimmed to black, gray, and white, similar to what was also happening to the trees around them. Complicated red pathways in the wolf became more clear and distinct. Naruto, shocked at the sudden change of sight, hesitated for a moment. This gave the wolf the time it needed. It snapped out at Naruto, ripping off cloth and skin and left a gaping wound in Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto fell to the ground, rolling to the left to avoid the new wound on his right shoulder. He cringed and backed away to safety. The only kunai he brought with him was lying behind enemy borders, out of his reach. Naruto winced as the wind brushed the deep wound on his shoulder.

A growl drew Naruto's attention from his shoulder back to the fight. Naruto looked up, his eyes widened in fright. The wolf was hovering in the air, on crash course with Naruto. Naruto tried moving but with every movement, his shoulder felt like it was catching on fire. A crack behind him drew his gaze. His oversized jacket was caught on a thick branch protruding from the tree that Naruto was leaning on.

Naruto looked back at the wolf. It was closer than before. All Naruto could do was watch as his death loomed closer and closer. Naruto shut his eyes and waited for the impact.

_"...Naruto..."_

Naruto's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. The green forest was replaced by a blood red sky. In front him, the wolf was nowhere to be seen.

In its place, the mysterious figure stood, offering him the rotating ball of blood. Naruto's gaze shifted from the stranger, to the ball, and back to the stranger, momentarily forgetting about the attack. His eyes were filled with curiosity as he extended his hands toward the ball of blood. As the space between Naruto's hand and the ball decreased, the humming in the air increased. Within a few centimeters to the spinning sphere of blood, Naruto hesitated. He was aware that he should be careful but something inside of him urged him to take the sphere. He threw all precautions to the wind and reached out for the ball. His hand touched the rotating surface and hesitated again.

The figure offered the ball towards Naruto once again. Naruto looked up at the shadow-hidden figure, then back at the spinning ball. He wrapped his hand around it and lifted it towards him. As soon as the ball left the figure's hand, it disappeared. Naruto didn't notice. He was too mesmerized by what was in his hands.

Suddenly, the sphere stopped rotating. It sprang from Naruto's hands to hover before him. Before Naruto could move, the sphere separated and zoomed towards Naruto. As soon as they touched his skin, they shrank and disappeared, leaving Naruto alone again. Naruto closed his eyes sadly. When he opened his eyes, the wolf had returned and the distance was rapidly declining.

" …_use it…"_

Naruto's eyes widened. That voice…that voice! His eyes darted around. There was no one here except him and the wolf. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them the sight was different. Everything had slowed again. The outline of the wolf's body became hazy but the intricate pathways of blood became more distinct. But how was this useful? He didn't have any weapons and the distance between the wolf and him was rapidly declining.

_Death. I don't want to die… I don't want to die. I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!_

A surge of strength flowed through Naruto. He pushed his hands out towards the wolf.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!"


	3. Chapter 3

The forest grew silent. The cold night breeze rustled the branches and grass.

Naruto cautiously opened one eye when the expected impact did not come. The pale moonlight shimmered through the thick canopy onto the deserted clearing. Not one thing was in sight. Naruto quickly looked around, searching for the wolf.

He shakily stood up, cradling his wounded shoulder. Only when he stood up did he see the limp body of the wolf on the other side of the clearing. Naruto cautiously approached the body.

_Did I do that? _Naruto hesitantly ask.

…**Yes you did. You've finally activated your bloodline limit.**

_My bloodline limit?_

…**We'll talk more about it after we get your wound tended. Let's head back to the village.**

Naruto didn't argue, nor did he notice the sudden change in Kyuubi's personality. He dragged himself out of the forest and onward towards his home.

**I think that this place will make an excellent training place. **Kyuubi said with a sinister smile.

Naruto chose to ignore that as he made his way back to his apartment. He crept into a dark alleyway, crawled under thick underbrush, and dashed the last few meters to his home. Several villagers jeered at him and the jeers increased when they saw the blood on him.

Naruto slammed his door and bolted it shut. Hurriedly, he slipped out of his bloody clothes and stepped into the bathtub. He winced in pain as scalding hot water washed over his wounds. His expression soon changed to a small smile as the hot water massaged his sore muscles. He raised his head and allowed the water to wash the blood off his sweaty hair and face.

The luxury didn't last long as the hot water suddenly turned icy cold. Naruto hurried to turn the water off and stepped out. Using his old towel, he gently dried himself and slipped on his boxers and t-shirt.

Naruto made his way to his bed and laid down with a relieved sigh.

_Kyuubi? __Tell me more about my bloodline._

Kyuubi sighed. **Ukiyo means life, which befits your bloodline rather well since blood represents the river of life. Many people believed that the Ukiyo Clan who possess the bloodline Chishiogan were like gods, free to judge who to take and give life to. In some ways, they were and that was why they had to be killed. Humans grow jealous of others easily and the easiest way to rid of people is death. The last shinobi war was fought based partially on who would receive the assistance of the Ukiyo clan. Like you might have seen when you were battling the wolf, the rare Chishiogan bloodline limit allows the user to see the inner blood pathways and the weakness points. But what you haven't unlocked is the true ability of Chishiogan, the ability to have absolute control over blood, whether it's in your body or outside.'**

_What do you mean? I already have control over blood. _

**From what I've observed about the Chishiogan, their weakness is the inability to control blood within another body.**

Naruto remained silent, unable to comprehend what Kyuubi meant.

**The Ukiyo Clan has control over their own blood only, against contrary belief. That would mean that the Ukiyo blood contains a special element, which they have control over and not the blood itself. By manipulating the element in their bloodstream, it creates a false belief that they actually control blood. **

_Which they do not?_

**Do not what?** Kyuubi questioned impatiently.

_Control blood, that is._

**Have you been listening to anything I've been saying? They do not control blood. They control a certain element that exists only in the Ukiyo bloodstream. By controlling the element that dwells in their bloodstream, they make it look like they're controlling blood.**

_So people outside of the Ukiyo Clan do not possess this mysterious element in their bloodsteam?_

**No. That is why this is the ultimate weakness of the Chishiogan. They cannot control other people's blood. You have to understand this instead of stupidly continuing to believe that you can actually control blood. **

_But how did I control the wolf back in the forest? _

**It is because when the wolf bit you, your blood had mixed with the wolf's bloodstream to give you control over it. The element in your blood multiplies fast and is contagious. It's able to change the blood cells on contact so that you can control them immediately. **

Naruto nodded in understanding.

**This is only the first step, the first level of the Chishiogan. As you grow stronger, you'll encounter several obstacles to achieve the next level. **

_How many levels are there?_

**How would I know? I'm not an Ukiyo, but merely an observer, a witness of history.**

Naruto sighed. _So you can't help me._

Kyuubi remained silent for a moment. **It's not that I can't help you, it's that I'm choosing not to help you. **

_Either way, you're not helping me._

**Not with your bloodline. You're on your own for that one. **

_Because you don't know the Chishiogan. You're only a demon. _

Kyuubi gaped in anger.

_But you're making excuses because you don't want to reveal that you don't know anything. _

Kyuubi's mouth opened and closed like fish. His eyes were livid with anger.

_So there's really no point in your existence. _

Naruto smiled smugly.

Naruto: 1 point

Kyuubi: 5

* * *

Naruto smiled smugly and proudly placed his hands on his hips. He wiped a trickle of blood off his forehead with a rough swipe and bent down to drag the last animal corpse into the heaping pile a few meters away. He had managed to successfully hunt and kill several animals in the forest though most were smaller than him. He didn't have enough confidence in his skill to voluntarily place his life in danger.

**Is this all you can do?** Kyuubi commented with a bored voice, trying to redeem himself after the embarrassing failure the night before. After falling in the trap, he was forced, upon his pride, to refine Naruto's control of blood. And they had been using the animals that inhabited the training area as practice opponents.

Naruto growled in annoyance at Kyuubi's offensive comment. _Of course not, I can get more animals and-_

Suddenly, his vision spun, causing him to feel nauseous and light-headed. Naruto took hold of a nearby tree for support.

**Only weak things don't know their limit.**

_Oh so I'm a 'thing' now. I was demoted from dirt?_ Naruto retorted.

**You didn't know your limit and ended up using too much blood. **

Naruto slowly sat down against a tree and massaged his temple with his hands.

**Of course you can rest to replenish your energy but for users of Chishiogan, you have a faster way. **Kyuubi commented offhandly. A sinister sneer crawled onto his face.

_How?_ Naruto questioned cautiously.

**Drinking blood. By drinking blood, you replenish your own supply, which can then be used against an enemy.**

Naruto cringed and turned his gaze upon the dark red liquid that surrounded the heap of dead animals.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto bent down, carefully washing out the blood that had seeped beneath his fingernails.

A rustle of leaves met his ears and his body tensed in defense. With slow, cautious movements, Naruto spun on his heels and turned to face the visitor.

The image that met him forced him to take a step back and cringe. He ran his wide eyes over the insect and gaped at the size.

The caterpillar's enormous body was curled like a snake to fill the clearing. It's legs twitched spastically, in time with the snapping of its mouth, which was as big as Naruto, perhaps even bigger.

Naruto's body refused to move as he looked into the insect's eyes. Red rimmed with black stared back.

The overgrown insect crawled over to the pile of dead animals and sniffed. Picking a dead deer from the under the pile, it grabbed hold of one of the leg in its mouth and pulled the dead animal from the pile. As soon as the deer was detached, the bug flipped the animal over its head and cleanly caught it as it came down.

With a gulp, the deer was swallowed whole. Naruto followed the bulge of the deer through the insect's body. The caterpillar twisted its body and the bulge was gone. A chocking sound erupted from the carnivorous insect's mouth and bile shot out from its mouth.

Naruto had a feeling that the puddle of brown was the digested remains of the poor deer.

The caterpillar's head swung around in Naruto's position.

A queasy feeling developed in Naruto's stomach. He stepped away from the two questing antennas and looked over at the pile of brown.

He was going to be the second puddle of brown…if he didn't escape, alive.

The caterpillar reared up on its hind body and swayed. It paused for a minute and attacked.

Naruto leapt away just as the insect's fangs plunged the soil.

A growl erupted from the bug as it reared its head and attacked once again.

Naruto dodged away again but just barely. He looked up at his opponent and narrowed his eyes. He needed to get serious. This was a great opportunity to test his skills.

His eyes flashed as he flicked his right wrist. The spilt blood on the ground rose together to form a whip and hovered near Naruto's fingertips, waiting for the next piece of instruction.

The wild insect ignored the movement and charged forward.

Naruto eyed the distance between them. Finally deeming the distance close enough, Naruto grasped the whip's handle, plucking it from midair, and flicked his wrist towards the bug. The whip of blood followed the movement and command and, like a whip, sailed towards the caterpillar, turned downward and sliced into the beast's hide with a whistling sound.

The wild animal threw its head back in a shriek of pain and looked back with fear and anger mixed in its eyes.

Naruto smiled, his eyes lit up with a childish happiness at his accomplishment though he still needed to work on his control.

The caterpillar reared onto its hind legs, drowning Naruto in its shadow.

Naruto flicked his wrists again, directing the whip of blood to attack. The whip whistled through the air and sliced the insect's vulnerable stomach.

The caterpillar threw its head back and let out an earsplitting shriek. It's legs twitched violently, expressing its anger, and launched toward Naruto with new determination.

Naruto's eyes widened at the increased speed of the insect. He looked down at his whip and cringed.

His whip wasn't effective in close range, which meant that he would need to use some other weapon to harm the animal. Unfortunately, he didn't carry his kunai and the Academy had yet to teach them how to use a shuriken.

Naruto searched around him. What was he going to use? Naruto thought frantically.

Suddenly, he remembered what Kyuubi said. _**Blood can form any object, shape, or thing. It can form anything that you want with the right amount of control.'**_

Naruto looked down at the whip in his hand and concentrated, willing it to change into the shape. Slowly, sections of the whip detached to form floating blobs of blood. As each blob came free, they formed together again. Finally, the shape changed into a small kunai. Naruto reached up and grasped the warm handle. It fit Naruto's palm perfectly.

Naruto blinked in surprised that his experiment had worked and turned his attention back to the wild animal approaching him. He got into the stance that Iruka-sensei taught and charged towards the animal. As they neared, Naruto jumped upward and stabbed the insect with the blood kunai.

But as soon as the blood kunai was stabbed in, it splattered into its liquid state again. Naruto winced. How was he going to kill the animal if all the weapons he made just went back its original state after it left his hands?

'**You need to concentrate so that the blood kunai would stay in that form even after it leaves your hand. And you need to make the kunai sharper to penetrate the animal's hide.'** Kyuubi advised, being surprisingly cooperative.

Naruto took Kyuubi's instructions and created another blood kunai from the blood splattered all over the clearing, the aftermath of Naruto's practice.

This time, the blood made the shape of a kunai faster and Naruto was able to concentrate on the opponent.

Naruto charged once again. With a grunt, he stabbed the kunai in the insect's chest.

A sickening crunch sound was heard from behind Naruto. He quickly turned around to see if his plan worked.

The caterpillar reared up onto its hind legs again. Its antennas twitched frantically and let out a high-pitched shriek. Naruto hurried to cover his ears and hunched down in fear. The ground shivered as the insect's body hit the floor with enormous force.

Naruto opened one eye to check the situation. Before him, the insect's form was limp on the ground. Blood spilled out of the deep wound that Naruto inflicted. Naruto smiled hesitantly and, after checking if the animal was indeed dead, he jumped around the clearing with a childish smile on his face.

**Stop prancing around stupidly. If you want to celebrate, go to Ichiraku's and get yourself something to eat that's saturated with lots of salt.**

Naruto's face lit up with a wider smile.

"Yosh!"

**

* * *

**

Hokage Office

"I assure you, everything will be alright. I've already sent two teams of elite ANBUs to investigate the matter. If anything threatening is discovered, they will take care of it."

"But the shriek was so loud and it happened twice. I don't know what could have caused that horrible sound." An old lady complained, placing her wrinkled hand over her chest. "I almost had a heart attack. That was so frightening."

"It originated in the direction of the Forest of Death. Any creature in there is capable of creating such a shriek but you don't need to worry. I've already sent the ANBU to investigate."

"Oh that's reassuring. Thank you Hokage-sama."

"It's alright. I understand that it would cause worry, especially for our younger generation."

"Yes thank you Hokage-sama."

"Good night."

The old woman exited the tower, reassuring a sleepy toddler that everything was alright.

Sarutobi sighed and turned towards the window.

_Naruto, you had better not have anything to do with this…_

Over in Naruto's apartment, a series of sneezes woke Naruto up from his dreams.

**I never knew you were this weak. **Kyuubi taunted.

_You never know anything. _Naruto retorted sleepily and fell asleep again.

Kyuubi gritted his teeth in anger. This was the second time he was best in the last two days.

Maybe Naruto was catching onto Kyuubi's personality faster than he thought.

**

* * *

**

The next morning

Naruto trudged past the gate surrounding the training area 44 without a thought of his own safety. His legs carried him to the clearing they trained in the day before. As he neared, the scent of blood became stronger. Naruto entered the clearing and gaped at the sight.

The pile of dead animals was starting to rot, giving off a horrible stench, which attracted various types of insects to feast on the remains. The pool of blood had dried up but had dyed the grass a deep red, differing greatly from their neighboring lush green grass.

Kyuubi stayed silent and retreated within his cage.

Naruto mentally glared and received a deep growl in reply. He sighed, knowing of what had to be done.

He dug pits and threw the animal carcasses in. He made sure to cover it completely but he didn't know what to do with the rest of the blood. Naruto directed every single drop of blood into a spinning ball in his palm, like the figure in his dream did, but what to do now?

**Coward. It's only blood. If you don't get used to the concept of drinking blood to replenish your reserves, you can't become a true Ukiyo. **Kyuubi slyly tempted.

Naruto bit his lips. Thinking back, he remembered that blood had had accompanied his childhood and made itself and its importance known from the very start of his life. He remembered that every time he returned to consciousness after a particularly severe beating, he would bite open his lips to see if blood would flow into his mouth or not. It was a test, a rather stupid test now looking back, to see if he was still alive.

Blood had been an indicator of his survival but now it held a different meaning. According to Kyuubi, to a Ukiyo, it was no longer merely an indicator, it was a fuel, a stored lifeline.

Naruto took a deep breath and drank the blood in his hands. The taste brought back memories, bad memories mixed with good.

The metallic liquid would remind him that he was still alive, still stuck in this hell with villagers that hated his very existence. But it would also remind him that he was still alive to live another day, to know that he had the power to overcome death once more and lived to tell the tale.

Naruto cringed as he forced himself to swallow. His eyes snapped open and widened in surprise.

"It's...not that bad."


	5. Chapter 5

Subtle thumping sounds were heard from a particular twelve-years-old blonde boy.

Naruto sat precariously close to the edge of his seat as he leaned forward and pinned Iruka with his determined, dazzling blue-eyed stare.

Iruka paused and looked over a Naruto pointedly. "Team Seven is comprised of Uzumaki Naruto,"

At this Naruto leaned forward even more, ending up half standing half sprawled over his desk.

Iruka smirked evilly and paused for effect.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto complained.

"Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka finished.

"YES!!" Naruto shouted, his hands coming close to knocking Shikamaru out of his chair.

Shikamaru glared sideways at Naruto beneath heavy eyelids and resumed his nap.

Naruto smiled widely when Sakura turned around to glare at him. He also shot one at Sasuke just for the heck of it.

Sasuke, of course, turned around and glared the infamous Uchiha-glare before turning back to the front.

"Lucky you Naruto." Chouji whispered as he stuffed another chip into his mouth. "You don't have to do anything with the Uchiha on your team."

Naruto cocked one eyebrow. "_I'm _lucky? You're the one that's placed with Shikamaru while I'm stuck with the Pink-One and Emo-One." He flicked a weary look in both Sasuke and Sakura's direction.

"Then why do you always act differently?" Shikamaru asked and yawned.

"I could ask you the same Shikamaru."

The indolent boy nodded. "Point taken."

"All teams are expected to return in two hours in your specific rooms to meet your instructor. That is all." Iruka finished and turned to organize the papers into his pack to take home.

Naruto took the indirect dismissal hint and stood up to stretch.

"Sasuke-kun, well since we're teammates and well…" Sakura shyly asked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Sakura's speed to get to Sasuke's side and turned around, motioning for Shikamaru and Chouji to get up.

"Let's go. I don't want to hear how Sasuke tries to turn her down. It would be more entertaining if Sasuke comes up with more creative ways to say no." Naruto muttered.

Shikamaru and Chouji nodded and stood up.

"Hey, want to go get some ramen?" Naruto asked as they exited the Academy.

Shikamaru groaned. "You're paying this time Naruto."

* * *

Naruto stared at the door, willing it to swing open and reveal the bastard that made them wait three hours. On his left was Sasuke, who was trying his best to brood with Sakura blabbing, ranting and flirting at the same time at his side.

Naruto had trouble holding in a smirk. Sasuke shot him a death glare, which only managed to make the smile increase. His crush on Sakura was only a front that he put up. Even though he did think that Sakura was pretty, she was also loud and annoying and, stealing a page from Shikamaru's dictionary, troublesome.

Naruto impatiently tapped the desk with his fingernails. As time passed, his eyelids began to droop. Naruto violently shook his head.

_Maybe I'm spending too much time with Shikamaru. _

The sound of footsteps in the hallway startled Naruto fully awake.

The door creaked and opened, revealing a disheveled man slightly shorter than the doorframe. Gray hair shaped like wheat bundles immediately drew Naruto's attention. The height of the hair could most likely account for one-fourth of the man's height.

Naruto's eyes shifted down the man's face, into his dark gray eyes and at his half-length facemask. The rest of the man was nothing different from other jounins in the village.

Sasuke made to get up as Sakura made her way past Naruto's desk.

Naruto sat taller and looked between his teammates to the jounin. Obviously something had happened when he was spacing out.

Sasuke looked back at Naruto with an annoyed frown. "What are you doing, dobe?"

Naruto looked around. "What _are_ we doing?" He asked with a clueless look.

Sasuke shook his head with a sigh. Naruto's eye twitched, his hand yearning to grab the remaining Uchiha's rooster shaped hair and beat that haughty attitude out of him.

"He told us to meet him on the roof. You need to pay attention more dobe." Sasuke said, accenting the word 'dobe' before coolly slipping his hands into his pocket and striding away.

Naruto growled from deep within his throat. He quickly stopped when he noticed what he did.

_Kyuubi, you're a bad influence._

In return, Kyuubi issued a deep growl.

**That's how you do it baka. If you don't know, don't try it. **

_Oh shut up._

With that, Naruto hurried to catch up to his teammates.

* * *

Kakashi lounged with his arms dangling from the rooftop ledge and his long legs stretched out in front of him. His eyes were bored as he began. "Okay, let's begin with some introductions. Your likes, dislikes… dreams for the future, hobbies…Well stuff like that."

"Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" Naruto asked lazily, trying to match his sensei's laziness with his own.

"Me? My name's Hatake Kakashi. …I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmmm…Well, I have lots of hobbies…"

"So all we learned was his name?" Sakura whispered exasperatedly.

"Now, it's your turn. You first." Kakashi said, looking at Naruto.

Naruto grinned mischievously. He shifted his legs from under him and spread them out before him. He leaned back a little and cupped his head with his fingers intertwined behind his head. With a bored expression, he began.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He added an exasperated sigh for effect. "My likes and dislikes…don't think you need to know. Dreams for the future? Don't need to know that either. And hobbies…"

Naruto trailed off, ending his introduction with yet another sigh. He looked up at Kakashi and smirked when he saw the annoyed look in his eye.

Kakashi's eye twitched. He had obviously noticed the parody of his lazy act and fixed the orange clad genin with an annoyed look. Naruto's grin only increased.

**I love your attitude.** Kyuubi commented sarcastically. **Your sensei's gonna love you.**

_You influenced me too much._

Naruto smirked as he heard Kyuubi growl and turned his attention back his team.

Kakashi's gaze shifted to Sakura and nodded at her to begin.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like is…well…the person I like is…" Sakura looked over at the brooding Sasuke and blushed. "And my hobbies are…" another look at the obviously-ignoring- her Sasuke and a blush. "Well, my dream for the future is…" With a squeal, she ended her introduction.

"And? What do you dislike?" Kakashi asked with a bored and annoyed expression.

"Naruto." Sakura growled, directing her glare in Naruto's direction. Naruto merely yawned again and fixed her with a wide grin.

Kakashi watched the exchange between the typical fan-girl and annoying blonde. He sighed. The first two members were already getting on his nerves. He turned to the last one, hoping that he would be different.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I really don't like anything. And I don't want to use the word "dream", but…I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and…definitely to kill a certain man."

Naruto looked past the infatuated Sakura at the Uchiha, one eyebrow cocked.

If Sasuke continued to look like the pretty boy he was, he would have no chance in the art of killing.

Kakashi sighed and Naruto returned his attention to the man.

"Okay… We'll start our missions tomorrow."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "So early? What kind of missions are we doing?"

"First we are going to do something we can do with just the four of us. Survival training."

Naruto's spirits fell.

"Why do we need more training? We already did enough training at the Academy." Sakura complained.

"This isn't normal training. Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. So this training is a highly difficult test with a failure rate of over 66 percent."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"But what about our Academy test that we had to take?" Sakura asked.

"Oh that? That's just to select those that have the chance to become Genin. Anyway, tomorrow, you will be graded on the training field. Bring all of your shinobi equipment and assemble at 5 AM. Oh and just a piece of advice: don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up."

And with that ominous advice hanging in the air, Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto looked around at Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke had already reached the rooftop stairs leading down.

Sakura sat in her spot, staring at the spot where Kakashi had disappeared.

Naruto sighed and looked away.

**With the failure percent that high, can you really pass? **

Naruto growled at Kyuubi.

_Will you shut up? When, in my entire life, have you supported me?_

**When you tried to test the Chishiogan on yourself and nearly killed yourself. **Kyuubi retorted.

_And the reason you saved me was because you did it to save yourself. _

**It doesn't matter. The fact still remains that I saved your sorry ass. **

_You were the one that told me to practice it on myself. _

**No, it was your curiosity that caused you to perform it on yourself and nearly stopped your blood circulation and heart beat. **

"Sasuke-kun!" A shrill scream interrupted Naruto before he could retort to Kyuubi.

He looked around. He was the only one left on the rooftop. Making his way to the edge, he hopped on top the ledge and looked over.

Sakura's pink hair was visible in the playground and Sasuke's gravity-defying hair was a little ways further.

Naruto shook his head. Sakura had followed Sasuke into the busy market district. He looked surroundings. No one was around. His stomach growled in hunger.

Naruto looked down over the side of the building and jumped. His feet flew over the edge and he hovered in midair for a few seconds before gravity took a hold of him again.

The cool late afternoon wind rushed past Naruto, pulling and tugging at his clothes and hair. The ground neared.

Naruto slowly relaxed his muscles and gracefully landed on the ground on the balls of his feet. He turned around and looked up at the height from which he jumped down.

A proud smile made its way onto Naruto's face. He calmly brushed airborne dirt off his clothes and wandered out of the playground towards Ichiraku's ramen stand.

**You shouldn't eat a lot of that stuff. You've been putting on a lot of weight.**

Naruto's eyes narrowed with annoyance at Kyuubi's sarcastic words.

_Shut up you fox homo. If you haven't noticed, I'm not Sakura._

Naruto smirked as Kyuubi grumbled and retreated back into his cage.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto yawned and reached over to turn off his alarm. It hadn't rung yet.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked through the open blinds.

The morning sunrays were just starting to pour over Konoha. The night stars and moon were still visible in the sky as light and dark fought over possession of the sky.

Naruto pulled his blinds up to let the scarce light in and proceeded to his closet.

He pulled out a black shirt and similarly black shorts, clean, simple and cheap, something needed for vigorous use and thrown away after. He couldn't afford to buy something fancy every time he trained.

But he suddenly remembered that he was to meet his team at 5. He traded the black outfit for his usual hideous orange jumpsuit with a grimace.

He shuffled to the washroom and emerged minutes later, still as sleepy as when he entered.

He opened his fridge and dug through the contents, finally coming up with a few pieces of bread and a half empty carton of milk. Kakashi's final advice from the day before rang through his head but he merely snorted and chugged down the milk, almost as if to spite it.

The first few morning bird chirps filled the silent air. Naruto took this as an alarm to pack up and reach his training area.

Before he left, he took one last look at the alarm clock. He shrugged and took his time to reach the designated training area.

Because it was only 4: 30.

* * *

Naruto shot an annoyed glare at Sakura, who cowered back. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

He left his apartment at 4:30, arrived before 5 and waited till now. Looking up at the position of the sun and the hustle bustle of the market district from his perch on a tree, he deemed that it was probably around 8 but it felt longer.

Sasuke watched the exchange and glared at Naruto. Naruto glared back.

_What's that bastard glaring at me for? What does he think he's doing, standing up for his girlfriend?_

Strangely, Kyuubi didn't utter a sound, probably due to the fact that he sensed Naruto's accumulating amount of anger.

The silence of the training area continued for a few minutes, before a cheerful "Yo," announced the arrival of the object of the team's anger.

Sakura, who had forgotten about Naruto's glare, jumped to her feet and shouted, "You're late," at the top of her lungs.

Kakashi merely smiled and flapped his hand. He opened his mouth to say something but the death glares from the male members of the team stopped him.

"Well, let's start now, shall we?"

Sasuke stood up and walked toward Kakashi and Sakura. Naruto jumped off the tree and walked towards them also.

"So what are we doing?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Sakura and Sasuke turned to Kakashi.

The man in question merely smiled and pointed to a pair of bells attached to his waistband.

"A very simple task. All you have to do is steal these bells from me but you have a time limit." Kakashi walked towards a large rock and held up the alarm clock sitting on its surface. "You have to do it before noon and you passes."

Sasuke frowned. "What was the point of not eating breakfast then?"

Kakashi smirked. "To use against you, of course. If you do well, I'll reward you with lunch."

He pointed to a pair of bentos also sitting on the rock.

Sakura's stomach growled. She blushed under the gaze of all three males.

"Well, I see someone took my word seriously." Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto returned Kakashi's gaze with a defiant glare.

"Are we going to waste our time standing here or get started?" Naruto asked grumpily.

Kakashi smirked. "Well, since everyone knows the rules and the point of the game, we'll start…now." His hand descended on the alarm.

Within a second, Sasuke and Sakura were out of sight.

Kakashi turned around to place the alarm back on the stone and turned back around, expecting to see everyone hiding.

Naruto, arms still crossed over his chest, continued to glare at the surprised Kakashi.

"You're a little…different."

"Did you _just_ notice that?" Naruto asked with incredibility in his voice as he gestured at his hideous orange jumpsuit.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he realized that he was just made fun of.

"Let's not waste anymore of your brainpower, genius." Naruto grumbled sarcastically.

Kyuubi sighed. **You're growing more and more like me. I'm proud. Now, it'll take a few more hundred millenniums for you to catch up to me in power. **

Naruto frowned. He had also noticed that his attitude had grown more and more like Kyuubi's as he grew older. He had grown from an obnoxious, loud, brash boy into an obnoxious, sarcastic, quick-tempered teen, such a great combination in a teenager.

A glint of orange captured Naruto's attention. He watched as Kakashi withdrew a small orange novel from is weapon's pouch and opened it to a page.

"Take your time boy." Kakashi said and began to read.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his anger flared. He was aware that at his supposed Academy level, he had no chance against an elite jounin but if he revealed his bloodline limit and his vast knowledge of higher ranked jutsus he had 'learned' from the Hokage, he might have a chance.

Naruto looked around the clearing, catching a patch of pink and a glint of a headband in the dense forest. He shook his head. There was no way he could reveal his bloodline without risking a catastrophe. What would the villagers think or do if they found out that the demon child possessed a bloodline that could wipe them all out so easily?

Naruto looked away. He couldn't reveal his bloodline. Not now, not ever if there were Konoha shinobis present.

Naruto groaned, cursing his quick-temper for dragging him into this position. He really didn't stand a chance and Kakashi was waiting.

With a mental shrug, he plunged his hand into his weapon pouch and retrieved three kunais. He ran forward to attack.

**

* * *

**

That was pathetic but no different from what I expected of you.

Naruto ignored Kyuubi and shed his clothes in the washroom. He sighed with bliss as the scalding water washed over the day's wounds.

_Naruto panted as he faced Kakashi again. The man was engrossed in the orange little book and didn't even give Naruto another thought. _

_Naruto used the chance to attach an explosive tag to a kunai and launched it at Kakashi. _

_Kakashi sidestepped, right into Naruto's path. Naruto twirled the kunai and ran at Kakashi. _

_Kakashi swiped his legs under Naruto, hoping to kick his legs out from underneath him. Naruto grasped Kakashi's shoulders and flipped himself over using the momentum. As he descended to the ground, he used the chance to take a swipe at the bells. _

_Kakashi used his free hand and grasped Naruto's hand, using his falling momentum to propel the blonde into the forest. _

_Naruto flipped himself over and managed to catch a tree branch. He gritted his teeth at his failure to get a bell. He didn't realize how restrictive pretending to be a weak genin was._

_He sensed Kakashi's chakra signature in Sasuke's direction. He jumped through the trees, skidding to a halt to watch the fight. _

_Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger. Kakashi had placed his dirty novel into his weapons pouch in his fight against Sasuke but he hadn't even given Naruto a side-glance. _

_Naruto smirked as an idea came into his head. Naruto bit his thumb, letting blood flow out. He pulled the blood into a thin whip and extended it towards Kakashi's waist, where the bells hung._

_Kakashi was staring wide-eyed as Sasuke made several seals and did not notice the whip of blood snaking towards the bells. The thin whip of blood lashed around the bell but before it could yank it off, Kakashi leapt away. _

_Naruto turned his head to look. A giant fireball came hurling in the whip's position. With a quick flick of the wrist, the whip sailed back, looped with a small shiny bell at the end. _

_Naruto's eyes narrowed mischievously. Naruto quickly placed a genjutsu and surveyed his work with a proud grin. At Kakashi's waist dangled a pair of shiny gold bells. Naruto threw the retrieved bell up into the air and caught it with a smug grin. He escaped to a safer area, away from Kakashi and Sasuke's fight, where he spied a bell lying on the ground. As he reached forward, thinking that this was his lucky day, a rope tightened around his ankle and yanked him into a tree._

_**You gluttonous pig…** Kyuubi disdainfully shook his head._

Naruto jumped in shock as the water became icy cold. He quickly turned the shower off and dried himself. As he passed the pile of dirty clothes, he reached into his orange jumpsuit pockets and pulled out the bell with a proud smirk.

Naruto sighed. The possibility that Kakashi discovered his bloodline was enormous today but thankfully, he didn't. Naruto inspected the bell. It was nothing special, just a bell.

Naruto carefully put it on the shelf next to the picture of Team Seven they had just taken that afternoon. Mementos were important in life. When one moment passed, you can never get it back and memories were fleeting.

Naruto fell onto his bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Kakashi wearily dug in his pocket for his house key. After dealing with those three brats all day and having to report to the Hokage afterward, it was finally time to get some much-needed rest.

As his hands brushed the bells, he noticed something that didn't belong. Kakashi quickly dispelled the genjutsu, leaving only one bell dangling from his waist.

Kakashi's eyes widened. _Only one bell?! _How was this possible? He couldn't have lost the bell, he would have heard it or felt it. Then…it could only have been when he was with his charges.

Kakashi smirked as he entered his apartment. One of them must have gotten the bell without him noticing. And if it really was one of them, then the big question was, which one was it?

One thought ran across his mind as he fell onto the bed.

_This was going to be interesting…_


	7. Chapter 7

"This is Sasuke, arrived at point B."

"This is Sakura, arrived at point C."

"This is Naruto, arrived at point A."

Static followed.

"You're slow Naruto."

"Okay, 7th unit." Kakashi cut in before Naruto could snap back. "The target has moved."

A shadow-hidden figure leapt off the tree, it's yellow eyes shining in the sun.

"After it."

Three blurs sprinted after the shape, keeping to the shadows.

Kakashi sat under a tree, a bored look on his face as he talked into the gadget. "What's the distance to the target?"

"Five meters. I'm ready to go." Sasuke replied through the gadget.

Behind him, Sakura nodded. Naruto had a rather bored look on his face. Kakashi gave the permission to move. Sasuke and Sakura lunged from behind their respective trees toward the hunch back figure on the ground.

Sasuke sneaked closer to the cat and snatched it up by its neck. With the infamous Uchiha glare, the cat's growl died in its throat and stayed silent.

"Does it have a ribbon on its right ear? Is it our target, Tora?" Sakura asked, striding towards Sasuke.

"It's the target for sure." Sasuke said into the gadget, acting cool as always.

"Operation Capture Tora the lost pet complete."

* * *

Naruto stood with his team at the far end of the room, wincing every time the fat lady cuddled/strangled the cat within her arms. He let out a shudder and watched as the lady walk out of the room with the cat in her hold.

"Now then, Kakashi's 7th unit's next mission is…babysitting Yoro's sama's boys, grocery shopping at the neighborhood town-" the Hokage said before Naruto interrupted him.

"No! No to all of those. I want to do a more exciting mission. Choose something else."

Naruto ignored Iruka-sensei's lecture about how he was only a genin who was just starting out and Hokage-oji's lecture about the mission-ranking chart.

"Are you listening to me Naruto?" Iruka yelled.

"No." He bluntly answered. "Sorry…but what about our mission? I won't take another boring mission today. Give us a cool one. Didn't we do enough of boring ones?"

"Okay, I understand. If you insist, I will allow you to take on a C ranked mission." The people in the room looked at the Hokage in shock.

"For this C ranked mission, you're going to protect a man to the land of the Wave. You can come in now." The Hokage shouted loudly at the door.

The members of team 7 looked towards the door as it creaked open, to reveal an old man leaning in the doorway, clutching a sake bottle.

Naruto had a bad feeling in his stomach. He didn't like this kind of men, especially when the man called him a short idiot.

**This is the consequence for eating too much ramen. **Kyuubi added, smirking as Naruto's anger increased.

* * *

Naruto walked, his back slumped and arms dangling at his side. He never imagined a C ranked mission would be so…boring, especially after Kakashi made that extra long speech about the history of ninjas and how great the Kages were but for Naruto, he had no need for extra information that wasn't going to help him at that particular moment.

"We're not going to run into any enemy shinobi or foreign ninjas in a C ranked mission. The chances of that are very low." Kakashi informed them.

_Damn it!_ Naruto thought. The whole point of trying to get a better-ranked mission was the possibility of a fight against an enemy ninja.

Naruto glowered, causing his teammates and the old man to give him a wide berth. Naruto saw the puddle on the ground and was about to step in it to express his frustration.

**Naruto, sense for chakra. **Kyuubi suddenly said.

Naruto was confused at Kyuubi's request but complied. His eyes snapped open in surprise. Besides the chakra that was his team's and their client's, the only nearby chakra was from other woodland animals and…this puddle of water.

Naruto kept walking but he looked back at Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi-sensei had paused for half a second at the puddle before continuing.

Naruto continued but stayed on guard and his work paid off. A sound of metal came from behind them. Everyone turned back to see Kakashi-sensei being tightly bound in metal chains.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed.

The two people that were holding the ends of the metal chain pulled back and Kakashi-sensei's body was sliced into pieces.

Naruto gasped in shock at how quickly and easily Kakashi was killed.

Suddenly, Naruto felt two presences behind him. He spun around, pulling out two kunai and prepared to attack.

**Don't move.**

_But-_

**Let the others take care of it. You don't want to give away your level of power on these Chunins. The element of surprise is-**

_-your key to victory against a stronger opponent. I know. It's strange that you're helping me._

Naruto stood back, trusting Sasuke would want the chance to show off. He was right. Sasuke let fly two shurikens, pinning the metal chain to a tree before it could do any more damage.

Sasuke grabbed the chains and sent a back kick towards the two opponents.

The two opponents twisted before they touched the ground and landed back on their feet again. One rushed around Sasuke and Naruto towards Tazuna, who was being guarded by Sakura and the other rushed towards Naruto. Sasuke appeared in front of Tazuna and Sakura but before he could attack, Kakashi appeared and kicked the opponent down.

While everybody's attention was on Kakashi-sensei, Naruto quickly bit his thumb and directed the blood into a whip, waiting for the opponent to come closer. The enemy's eyes widened at the whip of blood but still continued his attack. Naruto eyed the distance. It was too short to use the whip. So doing the first thing that came to mind, he threw the blood towards the opponent's eyes. Naruto's control over the blood made it travel faster than the enemy could see and before he knew it, his eyes were burning from the sensation of blood.

Kakashi-sensei appeared at the opponent's side with a kunai and brought it down on his head, causing the enemy to fall into unconsciousness.

Naruto looked at the place where Kakashi-sensei got 'killed'. There was a pile of cut up wood.

_So he used Kawarimi Jutsu…_

**A jounin like Kakashi wouldn't have **_**not**_** notice the chakra that radiated out of a puddle of water. And added to the fact that it hasn't rained in weeks.**

Naruto watched Kakashi carry the bodies of the ninjas to a nearby tree and tied them up.

"We need to talk. I believe there's something you've been keeping from us." Kakashi said, looking Tazuna in the eye.

The four took a seat around the campfire as Tazuna told his story.

"We can't handle this kind of mission. This is way beyond our level." Sakura said after Tazuna finished his story.

"Sakura's right. You filed a C ranked mission, protection against robbers and highwaymen but protection from ninjas is beyond the level of these genins. If you filed that you needed protection again enemy ninja, this mission would have been ranked higher and sent with more appropriate ninjas for the job."

"But Kakashi-sensei, since we already came on this mission, we should complete it. And you're with us aren't you? You, a trained jounin, could handle this with ease can't you?" Naruto asked slyly. He was ecstatic at the turn of events.

Kakashi couldn't help but accept the compliment. He got up and stretched. "Well, you guys better get some sleep since we're going to continue towards the Land of the Waves tomorrow."

Naruto jumped up and down, a huge smile on his face. Sakura was uncertain but after looking at Sasuke's smirk, she changed her mind. Nothing could happen if she had Sasuke-kun's protection, right?

* * *

Naruto looked over the boats rim into the water below. His reflection shimmered before he disturbed it by plunging his hand into the water. The water was cold, freezing cold and murky. Everything was surrounded by mist, obscuring the view of the environment around them.

Naruto turned back to his team and propped his chin on his hand. The few minutes of surprise and happiness at seeing the ocean had passed and now, the never-ending movement of the boat was starting to make him ill.

"The bridge is just ahead." Tazuna informed the ninjas.

Naruto looked forward and gaped in surprise. The bridge shadow towered over them.

Naruto ignored Kakashi's interrogation of Tazuna. He didn't want all these information crowding his head. If things were really important, Kakashi'll repeat it again. Naruto almost shouted with relief when he spied the pier.

The boat docked and Kakashi, Tazuna, and the boat-rower exchanged a few words before they left.

Naruto felt tension in the air as he walked through the forest. Suddenly, the bushes to Naruto's left rustled. Naruto, his reflex setting in, immediately threw a kunai into the bush.

"Hm. It was just a mouse. No need to worry." Naruto said, trying to act cool and sincere to cover up the embarrassing mistake.

"Naruto…those are kunai knives. They're dangerous. You don't just throw them around whenever you want to." Kakashi said, frustration evident on his face.

The bush that Naruto threw the kunai into rustled again and a white rabbit hopped out, looked around then hopped away.

"Ahh! Naruto you almost hit a rabbit?! The poor rabbit. I'm going to kill you Naruto!" Sakura growled.

Naruto smiled sheepishly and turned away.

The walk through the mist-laden forest continued for a few minutes before Kakashi's warning filled the forest.

"Look out!" Kakashi pushed Sakura and Tazuna to the ground as an enormous knife passed overhead. Naruto and Sasuke dodged to the side just in time.

The sword wedged into a tree and a figure materialized on the handle.

"Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye. Did I get that right? It's too bad but you'll have to hand over the old man." The man on the knife said, looking at Kakashi.

Naruto looked up at the man.

He wore power like a cloak. The bottom half of his face was also covered by a mask like Kakashi, but the stranger opted to use bandages.

A slashed mist headband was hung sideways on his forehead, making prominent the fact that he didn't have any eyebrows.

Spiky, stubby black hair shot out of the headband at all different angles.

Naruto took one look at the man's outfit and looked away. The man obviously had nothing against the damp and cold of the mist.

Naruto's gaze traveled upward. The man's eyes were coal black as he smirked at Kakashi.

Naruto looked over at Kakashi, who was tense and on guard. He was surprised. He had never seen Kakashi on guard or tense since they had met.

Naruto's gaze transferred back to the man.

_I shouldn't interfere with this fight. I'm nowhere near their level. _Naruto thought as he looked from Kakashi to the enemy ninja.

* * *

Naruto laid on the bed in the bedroom that was in the house that belonged to Tazuna's family. After the mysterious Demon of the Mist appeared, Naruto had gathered a new piece of information about his sensei.

_The Sharingan…_ Naruto mused.

**Sharingan, a famed Doujutsu, otherwise known as bloodline limits, attracted my attention in the mortal realm. Sharingan, a bloodline limit available to people only in the Uchiha clan, possesses the ability to speed up the mind, thus causing the images you see to slow down-**

_Wait that happened when I was fighting the animal in the forest the first time we practiced my Chishiogan. Do I have the Sharingan?_

**No, you don't but the Sharingan was born from Chishiogan. Chishiogan also has the ability to speed up the mind but it can last longer than the Sharingan can. Chishiogan controls blood. It pumps more blood and feeds your brain more energy so it can have fuel to run faster. That's why I suggested you drink blood. It also acts like fuel when you need it. Sharingan, however, does not control blood so it speeds up the mind by force, thus damaging the mind little by little. The Sharingan can analyze a person's technique and then copy it to the smallest detail. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the Chishiogan but there are other ways. **

_How?_

**Chishiogan can see the inner blood pathways in a person's body. By being able to see the blood pathways, this also allows you to see any inner pathways of organs that you want. There were some of your ancestors that became medic-nins. Chishiogan can slow down the hand signs for you to memorize and then use it to see how much chakra is used.**

_I can see chakra pathways too?_

**No but the amount of chakra affects the amount of blood being pumped so you can judge from that. **

_Is that all the Sharingan does?_

**Hm…pretty much…except advanced Sharingans are…deadly.**

_I don't care about advanced Sharingans now. Sasuke can't get the advanced Sharingan can he?_

**Not with the way he's been going about his life.**

_What do you mean?_

**You see, word is, for a regular Sharingan to transform into an advanced Sharingan, the possessor must kill his best friend.**

Naruto was silent.

_H-how about Kakashi-sensei?_

**Kakashi…from today, I noticed that he only had a Sharingan in one eye. That's…impossible unless he wasn't born with it and was later transferred into his eye. That's the only way. But a transferred Sharingan can't transform. It stays the stage it was in before it was transferred forever.**

Naruto sighed. His brain was starting to hurt.

**You better get a good night's sleep. Don't think about this anymore. If you overload your brain, your Chishiogan would have to work twice the amount next time you activate it. **

_Kyuubi, why are you voluntarily and spontaneously offering me information?_

Kyuubi was silent for a few seconds. **I just felt like it. **

_Are you warming up to me?_ Naruto asked slyly.

Kyuubi returned with a deep growl.

Naruto smirked and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto stood in the hall, cupping his hand around his ear as he eavesdropped on the occupants inside.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

Naruto looked back to see Sasuke and Sakura making their way toward him.

Naruto's mouth lifted up in an evil smirk. "Kakashi-sensei's getting told in there." He whispered.

Sasuke merely 'hm'-ed. Sakura noticed Sasuke's uncaring attitude and said, "Naruto, sometimes you're so immature."

Sakura made her way past Naruto and Sasuke and entered the room.

Naruto followed last with a pissed off expression on his face. He looked around the spacious room. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Kakashi lying on the floor.

"Sensei, you look like you went to hell and back." Naruto smirked, committing the image of his sensei, vulnerable on the floor, to memory.

"The Sharingan's amazing but it puts a lot of strain on the body." Sakura commented as she moved to sit beside Kakashi.

_Kyuubi, does every doujutsu, even Chishiogan, put a lot of strain on the body after using it?_

**Most doujutsus follow that pattern though there are exceptions like the Chishiogan. A little use here and there doesn't hurt, though it's because your Chishiogan replenishes your body with the blood that you consume. On the other hand, there's nothing in the world to replenish a Sharingan user's energy except rest, food, and time.** Kyuubi answered.

Naruto turned back to Kakashi-sensei just as he said, "I'm going to make all of you go through some training."

Kakashi stood up shakily. Sakura hurried to his side, propping him up while Tsunami brought him a makeshift crutches. As that moment, Inari came in. After greeting his grandfather and mother, he hurried upstairs and slammed the door shut. Tazuna and Tsunami quickly apologized for Inari's behavior.

_Sheesh, what's with that kid?_

**He's a lot like you Naruto.**

_I think you need rest Kyuubi. You're brain's not working today._

Kyuubi answered with a growl and retreated inside his cage.

Team 7 made their way to a secluded clearing in a forest before Kakashi turned around to face them again.

"We will now begin the training. But before that, let's have a review about chakra, the base for the abilities of a ninja."

Naruto's head rolled back in boredom as he listened to Sakura's lecture. He had plenty of lectures about chakra from Iruka-sensei.

"You're going to learn to control the amount of chakra your body uses to create jutsus. This is a rigorous training for you to learn to perfect your chakra control, one that might risk your life to complete. You're going to…climb a tree." Kakashi ended, dramatically.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"But this won't be like normally climbing a tree. You're going to climb without using your hands. Like this." Kakashi demonstrated. The trio on the ground stared in shock as they watched Kakashi walk up the tree with his back straight and his body parallel to the ground.

"Gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet and make it attach to the tree trunk. Something like this is possible if you use your chakra." Kakashi told them while hanging upside down on a branch.

Kakashi gave them the directions and allowed them to start. Naruto ran at the tree but fell down after five steps.

"Surprisingly, the female of the team gets it first."

Naruto and Sasuke looked up to where Kakashi was standing. Beside him sat Sakura, who waved with a proud smile down at them. Sasuke gritted his teeth and ran at the tree again.

Naruto stood back, watching as Sasuke failed each time.

_What is the difference between Sakura and Sasuke and me?_

Naruto took notice when Sakura slowly walked down the tree and jump to the ground with a grunt.

"Sakura," Naruto asked, walking towards her. Sakura raised her head and looked at Naruto.

"What?"

"How did you get up there?"

Sakura smiled. "Simple, use your chakra to hold yourself to the tree."

"But if you use too much, you'll sink into the tree and fall and if you use to little, you'll fall."

"So you have to find just the right amount to keep yourself on the surface." Sakura explained.

Understanding dawned on Naruto and he smiled thankfully at Sakura.

Sasuke watched their exchanges and confronted Sakura also. Naruto smirked. So the mighty avenger also has to seek for help.

Naruto looked up the tree and placed a foot on the bark. He pushed chakra to his foot and smoothed the chakra until it ran parallel to the sole of his feet. He changed the amount of chakra until his foot stuck to the tree.

He took a step, leveling his body parallel to the ground and placed the other foot on the bark, also controlling the chakra amount to equal the other foot.

He continued with this routine as he took one step after another. He looked over and saw that Sasuke was doing the same.

Sasuke looked over and frowned. With a grunt, he sprinted up the side of the tree.

Naruto gritted his teeth and started sprinting too. He slipped more than a couple of times and had to catch the side of the tree to avoid from falling over 50 meters to the ground.

He looked over at Sasuke, who was dangling on a branch as he tried to stabilize the chakra in his foot.

Naruto grunted as he reattached his foot to the tree and continued his sprint, passing Sasuke's mark.

Soon they were both at the very top branches of the tree. The night wind blew around them.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke, smirking victoriously. Sasuke smirked back.

* * *

"Wake up…"

"Go away Sasuke. You can go back to wash your girly face. I want five more minutes." Naruto muttered sleepily and turned over onto his side.

A feminine giggle followed.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. That couldn't have been Sasuke right?

He raised his head toward the direction of the giggles and saw a beautiful maiden dressed in a pink kimono.

Naruto sat up and stretched.

"Hi I'm Naruto." He introduced, smiling at the female.

"Nice to meet you Naruto-san. What are you doing out in the forest?"

"Oh I was training. How about you?"

"I'm gathering herbs…for a sick person at home. Naruto…do you have a precious person?" he asked.

Naruto was startled by the sudden question but he forced himself to think about it.

"Why?"

"Because with precious people, they'll give you the power to protect what's precious to you." The other person smiled.

The maiden picked up the basket of herbs and left, but suddenly stopped, "Oh by the way, I'm a boy."

Naruto's jaw dropped as he watched the boy exit the clearing.

_Man, he's so beautiful. He could give Sasuke a run for his money._

Naruto looked up at the sun just as his stomach let out a loud growl. Naruto cursed. He probably already missed breakfast at Tazuna's house.

Naruto looked around, activating his Chishiogan, and looked around for any animals. Luckily for him, there was a group of rabbits feeding a couple yards away. Naruto smiled at his luck.

He quickly bit his thumb and formed two whips in each hand. Over the years, He had practiced creating all kinds of weapons until it was second nature to breathing.

Naruto jumped into the trees and hurried over to the group of rabbits.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto whispered before he flicked his wrists, causing the twin whips to spring to forward and wrap around the rabbits' necks. Naruto quickly commanded them to tighten, allowing the rabbits a painless death. Naruto wasn't a cold-hearted person, though sometimes he was detached and people often mistaken this as coldness. He didn't want to kill innocent things, which was the reason why he would constantly go to training area 44 when he needed practice.

Naruto jumped off the tree and flipped out his kunai. He quickly skinned the rabbits and washed them in the stream before making a fire and cooking them. Naruto passed his hands over the ground and all the blood immediately pooled into his hands. The smell of blood overpowered the smell of cooking meat. Naruto licked every drop of blood off his hands before turning back to eat the finished meat.

Naruto licked his fingers. He picked up the rabbit skins, rolled them into a ball and stuffed them in his pocket before setting off towards Tazuna's house.

As he walked through the streets, he noted with sadness all the poor people crowded on the street, especially the children. Naruto knew their hardships well, as he had been one of them when he was little, not because his village was poor but because everyone hated him.

Naruto walked into a hunting shop, hoping to sell his rabbit hides for some money to use on food. He bargained with the owner and was finally given 50 yen per rabbit hide. Naruto pocketed his money happily and left the store debating about what kind of ramen he was going to buy when he got back to Konoha.

As Naruto turned a corner, he heard yelling and the slicing sound of a whip meeting flesh. A cry sounded, which was quickly followed by a shout of, "Onii-chan!"

Naruto turned towards the sound of the noise. It came from a deserted alleyway. He quickly followed the sound of the whip until he came upon the sight.

A fat man was holding a whip in his raised hand, preparing to send it down upon the boy, who was crouching before him. An even younger girl cowered behind her big brother's protection, clutching a stuffed bear. Before the man could strike again, Naruto had already restrained him with his blood whip tied at the man's wrist. The man looked behind him, his eyes widening after seeing his ninja headband. The man's hands went slack, dropping the whip. Naruto in turn let his blood whip retain its liquid shape and flowed back to him. When Naruto looked up again, the man had already run away. Naruto turned towards the two siblings. The boy was around the age of six, with a four-year-old girl hiding behind him, holding a ragged stuffed bear.

Naruto looked at the condition the two siblings were in. Tattered clothes hung off their body, revealing their skinny bodies. Dirt clung to their skin and an awful odor wafted from them. The little girl's teddy bear was deflated from the loss of stuffing and its shape was almost unrecognizable, probably due to its constant handling.

Naruto turned without another word and walked away.

* * *

Naruto sighed happily. He had _finally_ found a store that sold cup ramen. He sighed happily as a soft breeze blew through his hair.

He slid down to sit, leaning on a tree a few feet away from a cliff's edge. Though it was dangerous, it offered a fantastic view of the sunset-dyed ocean. A rustling sound behind him alerted him to two presences hiding in the woods.

"You can come out now." Naruto yelled over his shoulders. The two children he had saved earlier hesitantly walked toward where Naruto was sitting, the younger sibling hiding behind her older brother. The boy gathered his courage and came to sit next to Naruto. Naruto looked at the boy. Even though he looked calm, his muscles were all tense as though expecting an attack. Naruto had heard the rumors that this forest was haunted and admired the courage the two kids had to follow him into this forest.

The two siblings cowered together; afraid he was going to hurt them. Naruto gently placed a hand on their shoulders. Naruto dug into the plastic bag and pulled out two cups of instant ramen. He placed them in front of the two kids as he started the fire again to heat the water. It didn't take long for the water to reheat and Naruto poured boiling water into each of their cups and handed it to them. The two kids looked up at Naruto.

"Well go on. Eat it. I didn't poison it. Ramen's really good. Have you tried it before?" Naruto asked them, trying to make them comfortable.

The older brother shook his head and cautiously took the hot cup and chopstick that Naruto handed them and tried some. His eyes widened and he dug in. The little sister followed his brother's example and dug in too. From the way they were eating, Naruto realized that they probably hadn't eaten in weeks.

Naruto was shocked at the answer the younger boy gave him. "You've never tried ramen before?"

The boy smiled and answered sadly. "We never had any money."

"Then how about your parents?" Naruto asked.

"We…Our parents left us two years ago. Said we were too much trouble." The boy answered, his voice quiet.

Naruto sighed. "I never knew my parents, either." He reached back into the plastic bag and got out three more cups of ramen. "So, what's your name?"

"My name's Ryo and my little sister's name is Yue (moon) because she was born at midnight. What's your name?" Ryo asked, obviously not suspicious anymore. Naruto smiled.

"My name's Naruto. Ukiyo Naruto."

"You're really powerful onii-san!"

Naruto smiled and sheepishly scratched his head.

"Can we stay with you for tonight? We don't have anywhere to go." Ryo said, looked down at the ground in shame.

"No problem."

Ryo smiled brightly and turned back to his sister, who was fast asleep. Ryo's eyes drooped in exhaustion. He leaned on Naruto and fell asleep. Naruto looked down at the small boy and the girl, a small grin on his face. Naruto finished his cup of ramen and fell asleep, leaning on the tree he was sitting against.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto cursed his stupidity as he tried evading the never-ending waves of needles. His flashy entry, though cool, was a wasted entry when he could have sneaked in and defeated them by surprised.

Naruto looked back at the unconscious Sasuke. He had knocked him out. Yes, you heard right. He, Ukiyo Naruto, had knocked his own teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, unconscious. But he had a good reason. With the mist, Kakashi and Sakura and Tazuna couldn't possibly be able to see inside this dome and with Sasuke unconscious, no one would find out his secret.

Naruto bit his thumb, letting his blood pool at the tip of his thumb. Naruto activated Chishiogan too. He watched in the ice mirror as red bled into his blue iris. This was what his eyes changed to when he activated Chishiogan. Naruto felt the connection between him and blood strengthen as he pulled the blood out from the cut and immediately formed two blood whips, one in each hand.

Haku's eyes were widening at the sight he had just witnessed. This boy, Uzumaki Naruto, controlled blood like he himself controlled water. Haku looked deep within Naruto's eyes.

"You have the same eyes as me."

Naruto looked at the figure in the mirror.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked the boy.

"Your eyes…have sadness hidden in them."

Naruto thought back to that day in the clearing. Naruto felt he saw something familiar in the boy but couldn't put his finger on it.

**That boy has the same eyes that you have, except you hide it behind happiness and ignorance. **

Naruto narrowed his eyes. His barrier that he put up was so easily looked through by this boy. "I've had a worst life than most people. I was hated and abused by things out of my control."

"Then that's something we have in common." The figure said. "But I can not allow you to win. I swore to protect my precious person. My person that brought me out of that hell I was in and I'll gladly sacrifice my life if he wants me to." Three needles appeared in his hands.

Naruto was about to say something but the rain of needles kept him busy defending himself and Sasuke. He looked around for somewhere to safe and out of harms way to place Sasuke. After finding none and seeing Sasuke get hit with more and more needles, Naruto made up his mind that he was going to have to break this dome of ice mirrors. Naruto experimentally flicked his blood whips, adding more and more of his blood to extend the whips' length. Naruto closed his eyes and activated his Chishiogan again.

Naruto opened his eyes, trying to find the real boy in the many mirrors. The one to his left had the intricate system of blood pathways. The rest were void of everything except chakra.

_So that must be the real one…_

Naruto sprinted towards the mirror that contained the real body. As Naruto ran, his twin whips waved around him, slicing every mirror he passed. As he approached the mirror that contained the real body, he extracted more blood from his thumb wound to extend his whip. The blood whips followed his commands, whistled through the air and sliced the mirror. One slice didn't do any harm so Naruto continuously attacked. As he neared, he shifted one of his blood whips into a kunai and charged. Naruto saw the boy trying to escape but he wrapped his blood whip around him and threw him back. Naruto jumped upward and brought his kunai on a downward motion and cleanly sliced the mirror in half. The boy escaped through a shard of glass but Naruto's whip wrapped around him again and threw him before Naruto. The crash caused the mask that the boy was wearing to crack and slip down. The boy made no move to catch it.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he realized that the boy was the boy he had met in the clearing.

"Kill me, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. He had finally found someone who had shared the same pain as him, who understood all that he went through.

"Please kill me, Naruto. Why are you hesitating? I am no use to Zabuza-san anymore. I don't have a reason to live anymore."

"Yes you do. We suffered through the same type of experience. We were hated for something we had no control over, something that was just thrust upon us. Back in my village, everyone hated me and blamed me for something that happened when I was born. My life was a living hell. I wanted to kill myself everyday but I couldn't because I thought about how Hokage-oji would feel if I did. Then, I met Iruka-sensei. They took me away from all that emptiness and hatred and gave me love and the feeling of belonging, and someone to continue living for. But you see, I was rescued and I created a whole different life, a better life and you can too."

Haku and Naruto looked at each other in silence.

"Naruto-san, I do want that life but I want to share it with Zabuza-san. I have to…" Haku's voice trailed off in a whisper. Suddenly, he disappeared from Naruto's view. Naruto looked around as realization came to him when he saw a blue haze in Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza's direction.

_Oh no…_

Naruto hurried toward the loud chirping sound, hoping and praying that Haku-san did not do what he hoped he did not do.

Naruto stumbled and gasped at the scene. Haku was lying motionless at the side while Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza continued to fight.

Naruto turned back to watch the fight between Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza.

_They're at a level far above mine. _

**And that's why you're a genin and they're jounin. Activate Chishiogan, you might be lucky enough to copy some things.**

Naruto activated his Chishiogan quickly and watched the fight intently. His eyes strayed over looked over to Haku's limb figure. He gasped. Haku's heart was still beating! Naruto hurried over to Haku's body.

_Kyuubi how do I save him?_

**You want to save an enemy? **Kyuubi asked, incredibility in his voice.

Naruto was quiet. _He's…the first one who's understood my pain entirely._

Kyuubi sighed. **You'll need to stop his blood loss first and replenish his blood supply. That's all I'm helping you with.**

_But-_ Naruto sighed heavily as he felt his connection with Kyuubi dim.

Naruto turned back to Haku, knowing that he was on his own. With the Chishiogan on, he looked Haku over. The mist-nin was losing blood fast. Naruto sat on his heels and thought.

To cut off the blood loss, he would have to clog the wounds. That should stop the blood loss and have the blood continue through the body. But the problem centered on the heart. Whatever had caused the gaping wound had eaten away at the skin and damaged part of the heart muscles.

Naruto rolled up his sleeves and got to work. With a determined look, he bit down on his thumb and drew out a thread of blood before closing his wound. Carefully, he injected his blood into the boy's body through a wound and closed it. Like dominos, Naruto became aware of his growing control over Haku's blood.

Experimentally, he gestured the blood to flow faster. To his satisfaction, the blood followed his command and flowed quickly to the wound. Naruto quickly secured the wound and moved on to the next. Not long after, all the wounds were plugged.

Naruto's head snapped up. He hadn't heard Haku take a single breath. Quickly, he directed his Chishiogan at Haku's heart. It was still pumping, albeit at a much slower rate.

Naruto cursed his stupidity. He should have started at the heart. His hands flowed over Haku's body, concentrating on the blood flowing underneath the surface.

He controlled the blood flowing through the heart with great caution. One mistake could kill Haku immediately.

With careful movements, he forced blood through the heart to produce a constant, healthy heartbeat. Soon, Haku's body accumulated enough energy to start processing on its own.

Naruto collapsed back in exhaustion. A small smile crawled onto his face as he watched Haku's chest rise and fall.

**Are you aware that even though you saved him, the villagers will still kill him because he aided Zabuza and Gatou?**

Naruto's eyes widened. _So what do we do?_

Kyuubi sighed. **Naruto, remember what I taught you about a person's pressure points? That, depending on how hard you hit them, some can kill while others can freeze? You're going to use what you practiced of Yubisaki on Haku to put him in a coma. That way, the villagers will assume that he's dead.**

Naruto turned his activated Chishiogan on Haku's body. Haku's internal system and blood pathways became clearer as the outline and everything else grayed in color.

_But I've never practiced it on a human before._

**Doesn't matter. Humans are animals too. Pay attention. There are six major points surrounding the heart. The major points are smaller in size than the other points. **Naruto nodded when he found them. **Use Yubisaki to hit those points fiercely but accurately. They have to be straight on the point. As you can see, these six points are surrounded by even smaller points. You hit those, Haku's dead. Right after you hit those points, you have to hit the points surrounding the cerebrum. These have to be hit within two seconds of each other. If not, Haku will be in a true coma that not even you can wake him from. **Naruto's eyes widened.

_But that's impossible._

**Not really. Remember with Chishiogan, you can speed up your brain speed, increasing your physical speed also. **

Naruto's face frowned in determination. He closed his eyes and willed a portion of his blood to his brain. He felt the current center in his head. When he opened his eyes again, everything was going at half the pace it used to go. He watched, mesmerized, at the vibrating force of the heart. He could see the shudder of the heart muscles as clear as day.

Naruto pushed chakra into his forefinger, thumb and his middle finger tips. He folded the rest of his fingers so they won't be in the way. Naruto readied himself. He focused on the points that he needed to hit, decreasing his field of vision until only those were included. Naruto brought his fingers down and, in a flurry of fingers, hit every point accurately. A blue haze was visible as his fingers moved from one point to another.

As Naruto sat back on his heels, he frowned as he watched the pressure points redden in color and darken to purple.

_Is that normal Kyuubi?_

**Purple signifies that the point is closed but not permanently. If it were permanently closed, the points would turn black. The coma wouldn't last long, only about a day or so…I think. **

Footsteps on the other side of the bridge drew everyone's attention. A chubby short man with a cane and tiny shades stepped onto the bridge, his steps echoed across the bridge.

The mist cleared to reveal the horde of samarai and missing-nins behind him.

"Gatou, why are you here and what's with all these men?" Zabuza asked.

The man named Gatou chuckled. "The plan has changed a bit. Sorry, but, Zabuza, I'm going to have to kill you here. Hiring normal ninjas is expensive, so I get Missing-nins like you. The ninjas battle it out and, with any luck, they kill each other, saving me both money and time."

"But the Demon of the Hidden Mist? What a joke if you ask me…You're just a cute little baby devil." Gatou taunted with a barking laugh.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "Kakashi, I'm sorry that this fight won't continue. Now that I no longer have a reason to go after Tazuna, I no longer have a reason to fight you." Zabuza said to Kakashi. Kakashi nodded in return.

They watched Gatou walk towards Haku's unmoving body and poke it around, making jokes. Naruto let anger take hold of him as he rushed towards Gatou, screaming. Kakashi pulled Naruto back, warning Naruto that this was out of his league. Naruto looked towards Zabuza.

"Say something too! Weren't you friends?! Don't you feel anything at all after that?! Weren't you always together?!"

Zabuza directed his annoyed gaze at Naruto. "Haku was a good shinobi but he was only a weapon. And it's a weapon's honor to die for his master."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "He, he loved you! He loved you so much he died for you! Yet you really feel nothing?! Do you really…really not feel anything? He gave his life for you to make _your_ dream come true because he said, 'whatever is Zabuza-san's dream is my dream. I'll follow him anywhere.'" Naruto's eyes filled with tears as he thought of everything Haku told him. "He threw away his life for you! Without his own dream, to die as a tool…He threw away his everything just to make you happy, to make you acknowledge him!"

"Kid…"

Naruto looked up and saw tears drip off Zabuza's face onto the bridge floor.

"You don't…have to say anymore. It pained Haku to have to fight you. He fought not only for me but for you guys too. I can understand. He was too kind."

Zabuza ripped off the bandages on his face. "Yea, kid, you may be right. A shinobi is still human. We may not be able to become emotionless tools. Kid, lend me your kunai."

Naruto reached into his kunai pouched and threw it to Zabuza. The kunai wasn't an ordinary kunai. It was coated with a thin layer of Naruto's blood. Zabuza caught it within his teeth and charged towards Gatou and the group of men behind him. Zabuza's only aim was Gatou but anyone who had the bad luck of getting in the way, soon found themselves dead. Zabuza sprinted for Gatou and plunged the kunai into Gatou's heart. The wound wouldn't have been powerful or deep enough but that was where Naruto came in. He directed the blood that was coated on the kunai into Gatou's bloodstream. The blood mixed with Naruto's blood, putting them under Naruto's command. The blood in Gatou's veins suddenly began moving backwards.

Their target: his heart.

The blood centered in his heart. Forcing the heart to endure a pressure that it wasn't made to endure. It exploded, showering the bridge with blood.

Zabuza pushed Gatou's body over the uncompleted bridge's side, into the water where it sunk to the depths.

Zabuza looked back. The men that came with Gatou cowered back in fear. Zabuza used the last of his strength to walk back to Haku's side before collapsing.

A yell of 'Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun's alive!' drew everyone's attention to Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto grasped this chance to hurry to Zabuza's body and perform the same procedures he had done with Haku's body, saving and preserving him until the time was right to revive him again. Naruto had remembered that Haku had said that he had no reason to live without Zabuza and Naruto didn't want Haku to kill himself after he saved him so reviving Zabuza was the only way. Besides, Zabuza had certainly earned Naruto's respect. Kakashi, who had turned away from Zabuza to see Sakura helping Sasuke sit up, turned back just in time to see Zabuza's body take another breath and Naruto's bent-over body with his fingers moving, suspiciously, in the same movement as the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

The group of men that had arrived with Gatou had witnessed what Naruto did to Zabuza. Naruto looked up, his red Chishiogan eyes glared coldly at them. The group stepped back in fear at the bloodlust that Naruto had sent at them.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun's alright!" Sakura yelled across the length of the bridge.

Naruto quickly stood up and stepped back from the Zabuza's body. He turned around with a teary smile.

"Hey hey hey hey!" one of the men that came with Gatou shouted, banging his sword on the bridge to emphasis his point.

Naruto turned back with an icy glare.

_I'm going to kill them for ruining our team moment._

**Yea, seeing as how rare it is that your team ever has a team moment. Wait, your team has _never_ had a team moment, before.**

"You guys are too relaxed. Damn ninja, you killed our meal ticket! You guys are dead! Now, we'll have to pillage this city and take everything of value."

"This is bad. I used too much chakra with Zabuza." Kakashi-sensei said.

The group charged forward until an arrow plunged and lodged in the bridge in front of them. Everyone turned to look.

Standing on the opposite end were the villagers and leading the group, with a bow and arrows, was Inari.

"Don't you come a step closer. If you do, the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!" the citizens of the Wave raised their weapons in a war cry.

"Inari!" Naruto shouted, surprised but pleased.

Inari smiled. "The hero shows up at the last second, right?"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up when he caught sight of Ryo and Yue next to Inari. It looked like they got acquainted.

Naruto turned back to Gatou's group and smirked. The citizens of Wave that showed up greatly overpowered the small group.

_Yosh. Time to try out the jutsu I learned in the Forbidden Scroll._

Naruto formed a cross symbol with his forefingers and middle fingers. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" a row of Narutos appeared on the bridge. Behind Naruto, Kakashi did the same thing, crowding the bridge with Kakashis. The group was scared shitless and ran for the boat at the end of the bridge.

The citizens of Wave cheered at their victory.

"You okay Sasuke? You kind of fainted in the middle of the fight." Naruto teased with a smirk.

Sasuke glared at Naruto as he leaned on Sakura. He tried to gain balance on his own but Sakura wouldn't let him go. Naruto's smirk widened and walked towards them.

Kakashi watched his charges before turning his attention to Zabuza's limb body. He looked down at the Demon of the Mist and activated his Sharingan. There was something that Naruto did to Zabuza. There was nothing out of the ordinary that his Sharingan could see but he still had a feeling that something out of place. Kakashi shook his head and pulled the weapons that had embedded into Zabuza's back out and carried his body to Haku. He gently set him beside Haku. Kakashi didn't know why. He did that only because he felt Zabuza would have wanted to be with Haku when he died. Kakashi turned away and walked towards his team. A feeling of cold on his cheeks made him conscious to what was happening around him.

"Snow…Haku…" Naruto whispered in realization and looked towards Haku's body next to Zabuza's.

_You don't have to wait long. I'll get you as soon as it's safe._

* * *

Team 7 came to pay their respect that day at sunset. They had buried (Naruto winced) Haku and Zabuza near a cliff overlooking the sea. Naruto had ignored Sakura and Kakashi's conversation on what a shinobi really was. He was more worried if Zabuza was going to kill him once he told him that he was buried five feet underground without a coffin. Naruto looked up as the rest of the team left to go back to Tazuna's for a good night's rest before their return to Konoha. Naruto left after them, looking back and promising that he'd be back.

Naruto quickly dressed and slipped out the window after making sure everyone was asleep, especially Sasuke. He had even put Sasuke under a coma to make sure he doesn't come after Naruto. He slipped out the window and ran through the forest to where Haku and Zabuza were buried.

_Great. Time for hard work. I can't believe they buried them five feet down. Why couldn't they have buried them five centimeters under?_

Naruto used the spade he had hid behind the tree earlier that day to dig Zabuza's grave first, partly because he was praying that Zabuza knew an earth elemental jutsu to help him dig. Finally he heard a _splech _sound and winced. Naruto bent down and pulled the body out. After his fifteenth try, he finally got Zabuza's entire body out of the hole.

"Chishiogan." Naruto activated his bloodline limit and readied his fingers to perform Yubisaki. He pushed chakra to his fingertips and found the points in Zabuza's body easily since they were purple compared to the pale pink ones. Naruto's hands were a blur as he hit each and every point accurately. His breath was held in concentration and finally let out when he saw the purple points turn red.

Zabuza took in a deep sudden breath, opened his eyes, and…

"Kid how dare you bury me six feet under! Do you know how it feels having six feet of dirt pressing on you ?! I'm going to kill you!"

"Actually it's not six feet but five feet under and I DID IT TO SAVE YOUR LIFE! I said I'll return you to life and I kept my promise didn't I? Now help me get Haku out." Naruto snapped back.

Zabuza was about to yell again but quickly concentrated when Naruto mentioned Haku.

"Um…Do you know any Earth Jutsus?" Naruto asked, nervously.

"No. I'm best with water jutsus and my sword. Why?" Zabuza asked suspiciously.

"Well…Um…I don't know how to get Haku out faster and I only brought this shovel." Naruto answered, scooting away from Zabuza for fear of his life.

Zabuza glared at Naruto and sighed. "Kid, you really are the number one at surprising people huh?" Zabuza hoisted his sword and positioned it like a shovel. He pushed the sword into the ground and lifted it up with a loud grunt. Naruto used his shovel and continued digging. After digging a hole close to the depth of Zabuza's, they placed their weapons aside and used their hands, not wanting to hurt Haku. Finally, Zabuza's hand felt flesh. They quickly wiped the rest of the dirt away to reveal Haku's body. Zabuza hoisted Haku's body onto his shoulders and with a jump, they landed on the rim of the hole.

Zabuza laid Haku down and looked towards Naruto expectantly. Naruto kneeled down next to Haku's body and closed his eyes, activating his Chishiogan. His pushed chakra to his fingertips and concentrated on the points with Haku's body. He had done this a number of times today but he couldn't be overconfident. Naruto took a deep breath and moved his hands with speed and accuracy over the purple points. He watched with satisfaction as the purple points turned red. Haku breathed deeply and opened his eyes slowly. Naruto and Zabuza were hovering over him, grins on both their faces.

"Zabuza-san, Naruto-san…"

Zabuza helped Haku up. Naruto turned away to give them some privacy and to shovel the dirt back into the holes so people would have an impression that the bodies were still there.

* * *

Naruto patted the dirt over the filled holes and leaned on his shovel. He took off his shirt to wipe off the sweat.

"Naruto-san."

Naruto turned around to see Haku and Zabuza holding hands. His eyebrows shot up. Haku calmly walked up to Naruto and took his hands.

"Naruto-san, thank you for giving us another chance."

"Just Naruto is fine and no problem. I…uh…This was my first time meeting someone who understands my pain. I…didn't want the first person to truly understand me to die." Naruto scratched his head, embarrassed.

Haku smiled warmly. "I, too, felt that. Maybe we could be more than friend, brothers."

Naruto smiled. "Yea, brothers." He said, his smile growing wider and wider.

"And I'll be the father," interrupted Zabuza, a red tinge was seen on his cheeks.

Naruto's smile widened even more. Underneath the midnight moon, he had added more members to his 'family'. Nevermind that it included the Demon of the Mist, the killer of his entire graduating class, an S class missing nin. Naruto felt more at home in a long time, surrounded by people who truly understood him.

* * *

Team 7 stood at one end of the finally completed bridge.

"Thanks to you, we've finally completed the bridge, but…this is really sad…that you have to leave." Tazuna said.

"Take care." Tsunami bid farewell.

"Thanks for everything." Kakashi said.

"Don't worry Tazuna-san. We'll come visit." Naruto said.

Inari sniffled, on the verge of tears. "You swear?"

Naruto nodded. "I swear."

From behind Inari, Ryo and Yue slowly walked out.

"Bye Naruto-nii-san."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're going to stay here Ryo? I thought you wanted to come with us to Konoha."

Ryo sadly shook his head. "I'm going to stay here with Inari and his family." He looked over at Inari with a smile. "We're going to become ninjas and protect our home."

Naruto smiled and nodded. "I'll come back in a few years to check on you two."

Ryo smiled and tightened his grip on Yue. Inari also smiled and sniffled.

Naruto's eyes filled with tears. "Inari…You're sad right? It's okay to cry."

"I'm not going to cry! But Naruto-niichan, you can cry too."

"No way…"

Both tried to hold their tears in. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have that much endurance.

"Later!" Naruto quickly turned around to hide the tears.

With a last wave, Team Seven set off down the bridge.

* * *

"That boy changed Inari's heart, and Inari changed the people's hearts. That boy gave us a bridge towards hope, called 'courage'. Bridge…Oh yea, we still need to name the bridge. Well, I have the perfect name for this bridge. How about 'The Great Naruto Bridge'?" Tazuna asked.

The citizens cheered in approval.

"Then from this day on, this bridge that connects us and the mainland shall be called 'The Great Naruto Bridge'!" Tazuna shouted. The citizens cheered loudly behind him.

"Are you sure that's a good name?" a villager asked.

Tazuna chuckled. "This name is in hope that this bridge will never crumble and will one day become a famous bridge whose name is known throughout the world."

* * *

"Yosh! Let's go back really fast so I can have Iruka-sensei buy me some ramen! Oh yea oh yea! And I have to tell Konohamaru about my legendary feats!" Naruto said excitedly.

"And I will…hey Sasuke-kun, how about a date when we get back?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"No thanks. I have to train." Sasuke replied. Sakura kept asking, hoping Sasuke would give in.

Naruto snorted as he tried to stifle his laugh. Sasuke and Sakura glared at him with murderous gazes.

Naruto casually whistled as he ambled up to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, can you-."

Naruto's jaw dropped. With the short distance between him and Kakashi, he caught the title of the little orange book in Kakashi's hand.

**Icha Icha Paradise**

So that's why the book looked familiar to Naruto. He had seen it more than a dozen times in the hands of the Hokage.

Naruto let out a horrified scream and ran back to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Our sensei's a megapervert." He reported in a loud voice. "Oh my gosh I can't believe our sensei is a pervert. This is going to eventually influence us. Who's the one that Kakashi-sensei was training the most?" Naruto said to himself in a frantic voice. His head looked at Sakura and Sasuke.

"Yes that would be Sasuke. If Kakashi-sensei's going to influence anyone, Sasuke would be the first person influenced."

Naruto gapped at the prospect. "That would mean my team would comprise of Pink-One and… Emo-Perverted-One."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "Ero-emo…"

"Naruto, you better catch up or we'll leave you behind." Sakura yelled down the length of the bridge.

Naruto's head snapped up and hurried to catch up.

* * *

On the other side of the bridge, hidden within the forest, was Haku and Zabuza, there to see their "little brother" and "son" off. They promised they would see each other again. Haku wanted to travel the world and Zabuza, being his overprotective father, agreed to come with him. Naruto gave them a second chance at life and they weren't going to squander it.

"Naruto, train hard and become strong. Very strong." Haku whispered as he and Zabuza set off on their journey.

* * *

Naruto looked up from his run. The wind had carried the words to his sensitive ears. He smiled. The world looked so much brighter now or was it only the sun that was shining into his eyes?


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes: **

**I deeply apologize for not uploading for...four ...five months? I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY!!**

**I'm not a very organized person (as you can tell) and I can't organize my life to my hide. I was so caught up trying not to fail and studying for exams. But I'm back now! Unfortunately, this might not last long because I'm going on a two month vacation. And I'm not allowed to bring my laptop. **

**So please...read slowly.**

**Naruto: ...that's not going to help us...**

**Storynerd: ...I know...**

* * *

Naruto slowly sat up on his bed, his eyes still half shut. With zombie-like movements, he shuffled his feet to the bathroom and emerged seconds later, looking the same as when he entered. Without even looking, he dressed and exited his apartment.

* * *

Sakura hummed happily as she carried her groceries home. From a distance, she could see the trademark orange of her blonde teammate.

"Good morning Naruto. Are you going to the meeting already? Kakashi-sensei's going to be late you know."

Naruto shuffled his feet past her without a word.

Sakura's eyes followed Naruto's movements as the boy shuffled down the street, apparently with his eyes half-closed.

Sakura turned around with an angry huff but brightened immediately as she caught sight of Sasuke.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke merely 'hn'-ed and ambled past her.

Sakura's eyes followed Sasuke as he made his way down the street and turned around with an angry huff.

"What is with boys?! I'll never understand them…" Sakura grumbled and shook her head. With her groceries still in hand, she quickly made her way back to her home, her mood considerably worse than when she set out.

"Sakura honey, are you alright?" Sakura's mother asked, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Sakura merely grumbled back with a "It's nothing" and stomped up to her room.

Sakura's father cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "She's alright. It's probably the hormones."

Sakura's mother rolled her eyes and sighed.

* * *

Naruto sleepily made it to Ichiraku and sat down at an unoccupied seat. As soon as he sat down, a bowl of steaming hot ramen appeared in front of him.

Naruto took a deep breath and his eyes widened in happiness.

"Thanks jii-san. Itadakimasu!"

"So Naruto, how was your mission?" Teuchi Ichiraku asked his regular costumer.

"Horrible. They didn't have ramen. Every morning I couldn't even wake up!"

Teuchi laughed and turned to prepare another bowl, and perhaps five more just in case.

* * *

"Yo. I got lost today, so…"

Kakashi trailed off, seeing that none of the team members were present.

His eye twitched.

* * *

Sakura meandered the maze of fences as she stomped towards the meeting area.

_If I get there and Kakashi isn't there, I swear…_

Sakura's threat trailed off as she turned the corner. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene.

A ninja covered with purple make up and a body suit was holding the Hokage's grandson by the collar. Two other kids were huddled together close to the fence and yelling for help. The remaining person was a girl who looked to be in league with the make-up ninja.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. The headbands on their forehead didn't look like the Konoha headband. She thought back to the lessons in the Academy. Her eyes widened as realization came to her.

"You're Sand shinobis aren't you?" Sakura yelled across the distance.

The two foreign shinobis turned to look at the newcomer.

The blonde ninja leaned towards the boy and whispered with a worried look on her face. The boy responded with a laugh and shook Konohamaru violently.

Before anyone could react, a stone flew towards the foreign ninja's wrist. He dropped Konohamaru in shock and brought his wrist to his chest.

Everyone present turned to look at the origin of the stone.

"That was the Hokage's grandson you were playing with."

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura whispered in relief. She didn't think she could take on two shinobi by herself.

"Foreign shinobi aren't welcome, right Sakura?" Sasuke coolly said, effortlessly crushing a stone. He opened his fist and allowed the wind to blow the remaining powder away.

Sakura smiled to herself. "That's right. Even though Konoha and Suna are allies, we can't visit each other's village without a good reason. Why are you here?"

The blond shinobi snorted. "Konoha genins sure are dumb. We're here for the upcoming Chunin Exams."

The other Suna shinobi removed his package from his back in one smooth movement. "But I need a little warm-up right now. How about we spar?" He asked, though his tone clearly indicated that he was above them.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and reached for his kunai pouch.

"Stop it."

The two foreign shinobis froze. They turned their head up to look at the newcomer.

"G-gaara." The boy stammered.

"We're not here to cause trouble. If you jeopardize our mission, I'll kill you."

With the threat hanging in the air, the boy named Gaara dissolved his body into specks of sand and materialized in front of the Sand ninjas.

Gaara turned his blood red eyes onto Sakura.

Sakura took a step back. Her entire body was frozen with fear.

Gaara's scrutiny moved to Sasuke.

"What's your name?"

Sasuke jumped down from the tree, landing a few feet in front of Sakura. "Uchiha Sasuke. And your's?"

Gaara turned around and walked away. "Subaku no Gaara." He answered over his shoulder and led his teammates down the alleyway.

* * *

Naruto hopped off the high stool and rubbed his stomach.

"Oh that felt good. I haven't felt so awake in a long time!"

"Well Naruto, you certainly beat your record." Teuchi whistled as he gazed up the tower of ramen bowls.

"Yep and I have the money."

Teuchi's attention turned back to him with raised eyebrows.

"I don't believe you." Teuchi replied bluntly with a pointed look.

Naruto's eyes widened. "No really really I have the money." He dug in his pocket and produced a wad of bills. He smacked it down on the counter with a proud grin.

Teuchi stared at the money like it was a miracle, which it was, for Teuchi.

"You have the money?" Teuchi asked disbelievingly. He picked up the wad of bills and quickly counted. A wide grin instantly appeared on his face.

"Naruto, your bill's all paid, for all four years. Come back anytime boy!"

Naruto smiled and nodded. "I will." He shouted over his shoulder as he walked away from the little stand.

With no aim in mind, Naruto ambled the maze fences.

Suddenly, Kyuubi growled, low and deep. Naruto shivered at the guttural sound and turned a corner.

The first thing he saw was a pair of blood red eyes, red enough to rival his Chishiogan.

Kyuubi's growl increased in intensity, wiping away all thoughts in Naruto's mind. Soon, snarls and howls filled the expanse of his mind as well, sending his mind into a frenzy of headaches.

Heat raced up Naruto's spine, vibrating off his body in waves of red colored chakra. His vision descended to darkness, with the exception of the red hair boy in front of him.

They stared at each other with crazed eyes in the landscape of darkness. Naruto's headaches increased in intensity and he realized with a start that he had started to growl.

Naruto gathered his remaining sanity and took several deep breaths to calm himself. Pain shot up from his hands. Drops of blood slipped from the gouts made from his sharp nails.

With the help of pain, he was able to reduce Kyuubi's maddened state to a dim growl in the back of his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, gathering his strength. He opened his eyes and stared back at the red-eyed boy, who was grinning insanely.

The boy turned around, whispering insanities under his breath.

"Come on Temari, Kankuro. Let's go." The red-head said, a subtle tone of crazed happiness was heard. He walked past Sasuke and Sakura and turned the corner out of sight.

Kyuubi had redoubled his efforts. Naruto clutched his head in pain as howls and screeches rang around his mind. He spun on his heels and stumbled around the corner. With renewed determination, he sprinted back to his apartment and collapsed on his bed.

* * *

Temari and Kankuro fell on their knees, their muscles tense and frozen as the waves of demonic chakra flowed over them. Their eyes diluted with fear but they couldn't move their bodies even if their heads were clear of fear.

Sasuke and Sakura also collapsed in fear. Their eyes were fixed with disbelief on their blonde teammate and the red-haired Sand ninja.

The area was flooded with blood lusting chakra. The red, malevolent chakra that rolled off Naruto seemed to have to effect on the redhead as he added his own blood-lusting chakra.

The Sand nin smirked, a crazed look in his eyes as he stepped backward and made his way down the alleyway.

Naruto also regained control and stumbled out of sight.

The remaining ninjas took a single breath and panted in shock. They looked at each other and quickly separated and went their own way.

The Sand shinobis hurried after Gaara, their bodies still containing a slight shiver as they reflected about how malevolent and similar the red chakra was to Gaara.

"Who was that kid?" Temari asked breathlessly.

"I don't know but whoever that kid is, we have to avoid him at all costs." Kankuro replied, his voice holding a slight tremble.

Sakura panted on the floor. She was glad she sent the kids away when she had the time. With a hand over her heart to calm herself, she looked over at Sasuke.

Sasuke's shadow was thrown over Sakura as he stood up, his hands still containing a slight shiver.

"Where did Naruto get that power?" Sasuke whispered under his breath.

* * *

Naruto grunted as he tightly tied his headband around his head.

**So this is why you have so few brain cells…**

Naruto didn't answer. He didn't make any indication that he had even heard Kyuubi.

Kyuubi sighed. Obviously, Naruto was still sore about the events of yesterday. And Kyuubi's pride didn't allow him to apologize.

Naruto exited his apartment and quickly made his way to the meeting place.

As he entered, he placed a stupid grin on his face. "Hey!"

Sasuke and Sakura scooted away from him and looked at him with suspicious eyes.

Sasuke glared at him and stood up. "Naruto, tell us the truth. What happened yesterday and what was that power you unleashed?"

Naruto looked over at Sakura. Sakura nodded and stood up to stand behind Sasuke.

It looked like they talked it over while he was absent.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked at them weirdly. He was going to stick to his plan if he didn't want to reveal his secret, both of his secrets.

"What are you talking about Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke growled in annoyance and stalked forward towards Naruto. "Don't pretend to be dumb, dobe. You know what I'm talking about."

Naruto scratched his head and looked at Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Yesterday? I was at home sleeping and then I went to Ichiraku's and then I went home and went to sleep again." He replied with a shrug.

Sasuke and Sakura stared at Naruto with furrowed eyebrows.

"I didn't do anything other than that." Naruto said, raising his hands up in surrender. "So what happened yesterday?"

Sasuke and Sakura stared at him while they thought it over. Naruto had to be telling the truth. It was impossible for the dead last of the genins to possess such power.

Naruto kept up his stupidly innocent face. His eyes were wide as he looked between Sasuke and Sakura.

In the end, Sasuke and Sakura gave in and believed Naruto.

"We saw you yesterday when we met a couple of Sand nins and you used this horrible chakra." Sakura explained with a shudder at the memory. She sat back down at the foot of a tree.

Naruto took a seat next to Sakura. Sasuke opted to remain standing.

"But if the person wasn't you, who was it? Who would impersonate you?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice deep as he casually paced back and forth.

"That's right." Sakura agreed. "Maybe it was someone outside the village who wanted to sneak in."

"If that's the problem, we'll have to report it right away." Naruto put in. "We can tell Kakashi as soon as he gets here."

"What are you going to tell me?"

The teammates looked up towards the origin of the voice to find Kakashi perched on the highest branch.

"Were you going to apologize for skipping the meeting yesterday? And forcing me to wait the entire day?" Kakashi asked, glaring down at them.

"You didn't wait the entire day." Sakura grumbled under her breath. "I walked past this training area and you weren't even here."

"Ano sa Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke and Sakura said they saw someone henge'd into me yesterday. Right?" Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sakura.

Kakashi sighed. "You can report that to Hokage-sama later. It was probably some smart-aleck chunin wanna-be. The reason for yesterday's, oops I meant today's since you skipped." Kakashi muttered bitterly. "Because you three, I was late to the release of the newest edition of Icha Icha Paradise."

Kakashi jumped off the tree branch and landed gracefully in front of the group. "The reason I call the meeting was to give you three this." He held out three pieces of paper. Each team member took one and skimmed the content.

Naruto's eyes bulged out. "You nominated us for the Chunin Exam Kakashi-sensei?!"

"Yes but whether you want to take the exam or not depends on each one of you. If you do, the instructions are written on the paper. Don't be late or you'll be disqualified."

Naruto turned towards Sasuke, who smirked back at Naruto. Naruto's smirk widened. The boys extended a clenched fist towards the middle of the circle. Naruto turned towards Sakura with an eager, expectant smile.

Sakura's hesitant smile slowly turned confident as she also extended a fist to join the boys.

With confident smirks, they looked around at their teammates.

Kakashi's eyebrows rose until they disappeared beneath his forehead protecter, making him look eerily similar to Zabuza.

**

* * *

**

Somewhere Else

Zabuza violently sneezed, waking both him and Haku out of their peaceful sleep. He lazily wiped his nose and scowled.

"That gaki better not be badmouthing me," he growled before flopping back into bed.

"Are you talking about Naruto-kun?" Haku asked, his eyelids drooping in exhaustion.

"Whom else would I be talking about?" Zabuza grumbled before falling asleep again.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

**I've rewritten the story with changes in the plot because it'll fit in later. So please go back to the first chapter and read it all over again and review!!**

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